Dear Editor,

We hear a lot of polling, and now primary, data that reports the percentage of votes a candidate receives or the percentage of people who would vote for a candidate.

What seems to be missing is some proportional context. Many voters here in Colorado are unaffiliated. Where is their representation in these polls?

During primaries, when a candidate receives a certain number of their own party’s votes, what % of the district’s registered voters’ does this represent?

Even though unaffiliated voters are able to participate in a primary of their choosing, how many actually do? Some clear graphics showing total number of votes cast along with the percentage the candidate received within their own party, compared to the total registered and eligible voter number would give a more realistic picture of how many voters it takes to bring a candidate to the final polls.

Maybe even more eligible voters would participate if the conversation included a more balanced representation of all voters.

Do more of us need to ask more explicitly for our news outlets to offer us this more complete coverage?

Thanks so much for reading and hopefully see you at the polls!

Annette Treufeldt-Franck

Nederland