Denver City Council Eyes Risky Shift to Ranked-Choice Voting for Local Elections

By Esteban L. Hernandez | Axios Denver

If Denver’s current municipal election system isn’t broken, why fix it?

The big picture: It’s a refrain from Denver City Council members opposing a bill that would change city elections to ranked choice voting.

Yes, but: Despite reservations, they advanced the bill Tuesday to the full council.

Why it matters: Voters may decide this fall whether to fundamentally change how local elections work.

The other side: Council members who back the bill, including Sarah Parady and Darrell Watson, say it will boost turnout, increase candidate engagement with voters and save money.

How it works: Ranked choice voting allows people to rank candidates in order of preference when multiple contestants are available (Denver’s bill allows voters to pick up to six).

• A candidate who gets more than 50% of first-choice votes wins.

If no one meets that threshold, there’s an “instant runoff,” where the candidate with the fewest votes is dropped, and voters who picked that eliminated candidate will have their next top-choice contestant counted.

• The process repeats until a contestant earns a majority vote.

What’s next: The Denver City Council will decide Aug. 4 whether to send the measure to the November ballot.

• However, the bill may contain revisions before it’s forwarded to the ballot, with some council members wanting more information on how it will apply to council’s at-large positions.

READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE AT AXIOS DENVER