Fort Collins to Debut Ranked Choice Voting in November Election

By: Maggie Bryan | Denver7

Denver7 is taking your questions and concerns about ranked choice voting to the Fort Collins city clerk and the Larimer County clerk.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — For the first time, Fort Collins voters will use ranked choice voting to elect a mayor and city council members during November’s election.

Fort Collins voters approved the switch to the new voting method in 2022 with 58% of the vote. For the past few years, local election officials have been working to educate people on ranked choice voting, which allows people to rank candidates in order of preference instead of voting for one person.

Ranked choice voting has faced criticism for being too complicated for voters in a climate where it’s already difficult to get people to vote in local elections.

“I don’t think the ranked voting works that well,” said Mike Fountain, a Fort Collins voter. “It is confusing, absolutely.”

Other residents told Denver7 they believe giving voters more choices will incentivize them to vote in local elections.

“I feel like once you set the precedent, more people will get along with it. So, it’s not that it’s hard for people to comprehend, it’s just that they need to see it to understand it,” said Fort Collins resident Peter Bowman. “I like ranked choice voting because it allows you to choose the next politician that you would vote for instead of it being like the most popular politician.”

“It’s not confusing,” said Molly McGuire, a Fort Collins voter. “My only concern would be the tallying and being sure that it was all fair and equal and timely.”

Denver7 spoke with Fort Collins City Clerk Delynn Coldiron and Larimer County Clerk Tina Harris about residents’ questions and concerns with the voting method.

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