On May 2, the Colorado legislature gave final approval to SB 83. It expands the ability of qualified minor parties to nominate whom they wish. The old law barred them from running nominees who had been a member of another party for the preceding year. The bill gives qualified minor parties the right to have a Bylaw that countermands this restriction. If this bill had been in effect last year, the Libertarian Party would have been able to run a strong contender for Sheriff of Arapahoe County.

SB 83 also deletes the requirement that initiative petitioners wear a badge giving their names and telling whether they are paid or not. It also lets circulators for a candidate for district office work, even if that circulator doesn’t live in that candidate’s district.

This is the first ballot access improvement bill that has passed in 2007 in any state, except for two bills in Arkansas.