Unity Party is now officially a minor party in Colorado

DENVER, June 7, 2017 -- Colorado has added another minor party to its rolls – the Unity Party.

As of Monday afternoon, Colorado Secretary of State records showed the Unity Party with 1,002 registered voters. Passing the 1,000-voter mark gave the party its status for at least the next two general elections, in 2018 and 2020. At the end of May, the Unity Party recorded 999 voters, registration records show. More joined in June.

Previously the Unity Party was considered a “qualified political organization” and candidates had to petition onto the ballot. Under its new status, the Unity Party must hold an assembly at least 73 days before the 2018 primary election to nominate candidates. Those candidates are placed directly on the general election ballot. If multiple candidates run for the same office, a primary is held.

“It’s pretty exciting,” said Bill Hammons, who founded the Unity Party in Colorado in 2005.

He is chairman of the state and national Unity Party. Its slogan: "Not right, not left, but forward."

The other minor parties in Colorado are: American Constitution, Green, and Libertarian. The major parties in Colorado are the Democratic and Republican parties. More than one- third of Colorado’s 3.6 million voters are unaffiliated and not a member of any political party.

Hammons is running for Colorado governor in 2018. He twice ran for Congress in the 2nd Congressional District, in 2008 and 2010, losing to Democrat Jared Polis. Hammons was also a contender for the U.S. Senate in 2014, when Republican challenger Cory Gardner prevailed, and in 2016 when Democrat Michael Bennet was re-elected.

Being on the ballot in those elections helped boost the party's rolls, Hammons said.