By Carolyn Martin (CHEC Director of Government Relations)

Importance of the Primary Election

In both parties, there are vast differences between the candidates running in the primary where only 28-40% of registered voters vote. Unfortunately, it is the candidate who doesn’t support the nuances of our position for freedom who get put on the general election ballot and leave us unrepresented. For this reason, I encourage you to take the primary election seriously by investigating the candidates on your ballot and voting!
 
During this legislative session I spent most of my time trying to educate legislators on the finer points of home education freedom and parental rights. Those who say they support freedom were the very ones who brought forward bills that, had they passed, would have threatened our freedoms. (See this blog post and this one.)
 
We need strong advocates for home education freedom, parental rights, and religious liberty in the legislature! Here are some pointers on how to get engaged in the primary:

1. Find out what districts you will be voting in by checking your voter registration.
2. Look up the candidates in your districts.
3. Go to their websites, get on their email list, and find out when their events are.
4. Attend your current legislators’ townhall and any candidates’ meet-and-greets!
5. Check your current legislators’ score on the Liberty Scorecard.
6. Ask questions (see below).
7. For the ones whose answers align with true freedom, support them in their bid for office by volunteering and donating to their campaign.
8. Get others involved and make sure to pray for the candidates!

Questions

What policies would you support or promote for school choice?
“School choice” is generally a euphemism for ‘funding following the child’. If they support policies that promote funding for homeschoolers, they need to be educated on the dangers of such funding. If they can’t be educated, they will present a problem for us in the legislature. (See this blog post.)
 
Do you believe children have a right to an education?
There is a global movement to redefine human rights which is based on positive rights such as a right to housing, a right to healthcare, and a right to an education. All of these so-called rights come with the burden of the government providing for them – which means the government controls them. While parents have a responsibility to educate their children, education is not a fundamental right like those enshrined in our first amendment. If a candidate answers in the affirmative, you’ll need to dig deeper and ask them what they mean by that and how they see the interaction between parental rights and children’s rights. (See this blog post.)
 
Should Christians be forced to affirm same-sex marriage and a person’s gender dysphoria above their conscience?
The legislature continues to pass laws that create and elevate certain protected classes above others. Laws to force public schools and employers to put into place policies that negate Christian ethics have already passed and will eventually reach into homeschools. We need elected officials who will push back against this agenda and uphold our rights of conscience.
 
If you have any questions, please reach out to me! After speaking with candidates, send me a review of your encounters with them! You can reach me at carolyn@chec.org.

Join Me!

I will be hosting a workshop entitled “Legislative Update: Freedom Under Siege” at the Rocky Mountain Homeschool Conference on Friday, June 14th at 3:40 PM. Register here and join me at the conference.

Trusting in the mighty power and grace of Jesus,
Carolyn Martin
CHEC Director of Government Relations 
Carolyn@CHEC.org

About the Author: Carolyn Martin

Carolyn Martin serves as CHEC’s Director of Government Relations, working for you and other liberty-loving families to protect homeschool freedom, parental rights, and religious liberty at the state capitol. Subscribe to the CHEC blog for Carolyn’s regular updates here, learn more about legal issues in Colorado here, and donate to support Homeschool Freedom here. Contact Carolyn directly at carolyn@chec.org.