Libertarian Party of Colorado

§1Ballot status

✎ Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

It is on Colorado's own list of parties qualified for the 2026 election.^1,2 The state's class for it: minor political party.^1,2

In 2026 the party held a primary for Secretary of State, where two candidates qualified.³ The Secretary of State's 2026 ballot order drawing lists this party as Libertarian Party.²

How a party qualifies in Colorado

A group becomes a minor political party by filing a constitution or bylaws with the Secretary of State and then qualifying in one of three ways: a petition signed by at least 10,000 registered voters, filed by the second Friday in January of the election year; at least 1,000 registered voters affiliated with it before April 1 of the election year; or a statewide candidate who won at least 5 percent of the vote in either of the last two general elections.⁴ Where in the source: §§ 1-4-1301, 1-4-1302, 1-4-1303(1) A minor party's name may have no more than three words besides the word party and may not use any part of an existing party's name.⁴ Where in the source: § 1-4-1301(3) A party is a major political party when its candidate for governor at the last governor's election received at least 10 percent of the votes for governor.⁴ Where in the source: § 1-1-104(22) A qualified political organization is a group that puts candidates on the ballot by petition under its own name; it is not a political party, and the Secretary of State lists none at this time.^1,4,5 Where in the source: § 1-1-104(24)

How a party keeps its status

A minor party keeps its status if one of its statewide candidates received at least 1 percent of the vote for any statewide office in either of the last two general elections, or if at least 1,000 registered voters were affiliated with it before April 1 in either of those election years.⁴ Where in the source: § 1-4-1303(2) A minor party that fails both tests is notified by July 1 of an election year, cannot file nominations for that election, and its members' registrations are changed to unaffiliated.⁴ Where in the source: § 1-4-1305 Major party status depends on the 10 percent vote test at each governor's election.⁴ Where in the source: § 1-1-104(22)

§2How it picks nominees

✎ Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Another method. Minor parties name candidates by party assembly or by petition, and hold a primary only when more than one candidate qualifies for an office.⁴ Where in the source: § 1-4-1304(1.5)

Colorado's rules for nominating

Major parties nominate candidates for Congress and for state, district, county and legislative offices in a primary; candidates reach the primary ballot by winning at least 30 percent of the vote at a party assembly or by petition, and the candidate with the most votes becomes the nominee.⁴ Where in the source: §§ 1-4-101(3), 1-4-102, 1-4-103, 1-4-104 A major party may instead nominate all of its candidates by assembly or convention if three-fourths of its state central committee votes to do so by October 1 of the year before; a federal court declared the three-fourths rule unconstitutional on March 31, 2026, and both major parties used the primary in 2026.^3,4,6 Where in the source: § 1-4-702 Minor parties name candidates at an assembly, where a candidate needs at least 30 percent of delegates, or by petition; if more than one candidate qualifies for an office, a primary decides, and the party may keep unaffiliated voters out of that primary.⁴ Where in the source: § 1-4-1304(1.5) Candidates who are not party nominees, including those of a qualified political organization, reach the general election ballot by petition, with the number of signatures set by office.⁴ Where in the source: §§ 1-1-104(24), 1-4-802

§3On the 2026 ballot

10 Candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. House or governor whose label on Colorado's November 3 ballot names this party, from the state's official candidate list. Labels are shown exactly as the ballot prints them. Other offices aren't covered yet.

§4Notes on Colorado’s party research

What the research couldn’t find or confirm about Colorado’s parties, in its own plain words. Nothing is left out silently.

• The Secretary of State's Political Party Directory shows no date, so we could not tell when it was last updated. Its minor party list matches the parties in the July 28, 2026 ballot order drawing, except the Green Party of Colorado and the No Labels Colorado Party, which have no candidates in that drawing.
• The Secretary of State's registration statistics as of April 1, 2026 show fewer than 1,000 voters affiliated with the Forward Party (433 active). The state still lists it as a minor party and gave it ballot positions in 2026, but we did not confirm which of the legal tests for keeping minor party status it met.
• The Secretary of State's minor party FAQ and its 2024 press release say a minor party keeps its status with 1,000 affiliated voters before July 1, but the statute as amended in 2019 says before April 1. We used the statute.
• Colorado's official statutes are posted as one PDF per title, so the statute source is cited once with section locators.