Some states (ex. Colorado) didn’t allow voters to vote. The state just assigned delegates. Other states (ex. PA) let voters vote then essentially throw the votes away and assign delegates.
Is the word “rigged” not quite accurate? Maybe. But clearly the voters are not being allowed to participate in some areas.
The fact is that the state parties get to decide how they will determine their delegate distributions. If they want to draw names from a hat, that’s their prerogative.
If the party members in the state don’t like the choice, it is up to them to take action in their state party and change it, BEFORE the next election.
Because the presidential preference poll was abandoned, Republican voters in Colorado could not vote for any of the presidential candidates by name.
That said, the alternative was not, as Mr. Trump seems to imply, the coronation of Mr. Cruz by Republican party elites.
Though there was no presidential preference poll, Colorado voters participated in precinct caucuses to directly elect delegates—each of whom expressed a particular candidate preference—to the county assemblies, which in turn chose the makeup of the congressional-district and state conventions which would select the official national convention delegates.
Therefore, in practice, the Colorado caucuses did permit voters to cast ballots for the nominee of their preference through the direct election of county delegates.
Complicated, perhaps. Rigged? Not at all.
The rules of the GOP Colorado caucuses are readily available online. SEE HERE:
http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/CO-R
Though they are complex, they are not difficult to grasp, and the rules clearly state how the process operates. And with respect to fairness, the mechanics of the caucuses were completely aboveboard.
The vigorous debate within the state party last August about dealing away with the presidential preference poll occurred in full view of the public and culminated in a unanimous decision from the Colorado Republican Party’s executive committee to change the process to its current form.
Mr. Trump had just as much time as all of the other candidates to prepare a campaign strategy that would succeed, and he was more than capable of posting a decent showing there had he made an effort to organize in the state. But no such effort was expended, and Mr. Trump lost.
Last question -— Is there a better alternative to the current system?
Turning from Donald Trump’s specific criticisms of the Colorado caucuses, I wonder what sort of primary election process he would propose to replace the unrepresentative and opaque system which he claims we have now.
Since I don’t have him to talk to, maybe you can propose a better one...
Colorado republicans have no right to decide their primary election rules. We should let Reinse Priebus, or Mitch McConnell, or perhaps a real estate developer from NY decide. These super-smart people in NY and Washington DC are much smarter than the knucklehead in Colorado.
Please don't repeat the lies of the mainstream media. Colorado's GOP did vote. They voted DIRECTLY for the delegate to represent that precinct at the state party convention. This is how we have held our election for delegates since 2004.