Could rank choice voting increase dismal voter turnout numbers in Colorado Springs?

During the last Colorado Springs City Council election in April 2021, about 27% of active registered voters participated, a drop from about 32% turnout in 2017, a comparable non-mayoral race. 

“Our people are not voting,” Councilman Bill Murray said Monday, during an informal presentation on changing the election system. He urged the board to consider ranked choice voting as an option that could help fight general apathy.

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Rather than picking just one person in a council or mayoral race, a ranked ballot would allow voters to pick their top choices. If a candidate does not garner more than 50% of the vote from the first-choice votes, officials can count the second-choice votes, and so on. 

“You rank who you love, who you like and who you can live with,” said Linda Templin, executive director of Ranked Choice Voting for Colorado. 

Communities such as Boulder and Broomfield will use ranked choice voting next year, she said. Fort Collins will ask voters to move to ranked-choice voting in November.  

The voting method that’s been used for decades can save money by eliminating the need for runoff elections, Templin said. The city holds runoff elections in the mayor’s race if the most popular candidate does not achieve more than 50% of the vote. Ranked choice voting could help eliminate the need for that second election. 

Templin pitched the council on the ranked choice voting system, while El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Chuck Broerman explained some of its pitfalls, including changing the election system while it has come under intense scrutiny following the 2020 election. 

The council has no immediate plans to pursue ranked choice voting, but board members are interested in better ways to engage the public.

“We need to get more people involved,” Council President Tom Strand said. 

Ranked choice voting can increase options for voters and help make the choices less binary, Templin said. 

“It is very engaging for the voters and really gets them to talk about the issues that are important to them,” she said. 

Broerman said ranked choice ballots can have problems, particularly when voters pick two people as their first choice. 

He noted several communities have abandoned ranked choice voting, including Aspen. In that case, Templin said, the software used to tally votes was not certified and that caused problems. 

Suspicion and unsupported conspiracy theories have surrounded election results for two years and Broerman cautioned the board against making changes. 

“I think going this route will create more confusion,” he said.

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At the same time, the city is under fire for low voter turnout.  

A lawsuit filed in June claims the timing of the April elections suppresses turnout, particularly among people of color. The lawsuit argues if the city held its elections in November it would increase voter participation overall and save the city time and money.