Voters in Colorado Springs have until 7 p.m. Tuesday night to turn in their vote for their local district representative on the City Council.

All six district positions for the Colorado Springs City Council are up for election April 1. Only two of the districts have the current council member running for reelection, meaning that several new people will join the council and could swing the balance of power on some issues that come up for decision.

The candidates running in each of the districts are:

District 1: Dave Donelson and Lee Lehmkuhl

District 2: Frank Chrisinger and Tom Bailey

District 3: Brandy Williams, Maryah Lauer, Richard Gillit, Greg Thornton and Christopher Metzgar

District 4: Kimberly Gold, Sherrea Elliott-Sterling, Chauncy Johnson and Jeannie Orozco Lira

District 5: Nancy Henjum, Cass Melin, Christopher Burns and Jim Miller

District 6: Aaron Schick, Roland Rainey Jr. and Parth Melpakam

Donelson and Henjum are the two incumbent City Council candidates who are running for a second term. Chrisinger and Orozco Lira have suspended their campaigns and are no longer actively running for office.

The City Council elections in the spring usually see a steep drop-off in voter turnout compared to the November elections for county, state and national offices. Colorado Springs’ daily ballot report shows there were 49,400 votes cast for the election as of Thursday night, or an early turnout rate of just below 15%.

“We know you have an opinion on the city and the best way to get that across right now is to select a candidate and put that in the ballot box,” City Clerk Sarah Johnson said.

This year’s election to date has received slightly fewer votes and lower turnout than the same point during the last election for the district seats in 2021, which saw 53,000 votes cast by the Friday before Election Day and 17% voter turnout. The council races in 2021 eventually landed at a 27% turnout rate.

Johnson said the city tried to encourage voter participation through the media and by promoting features like the ballot status search that debuted last year. She said the main driver of turnout was enthusiasm for specific City Council candidates.

On Thursday a federal judge stood by his previous ruling to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Harvard’s Election Law Clinic and four voter groups in Colorado Springs against the city, challenging the April timing for the city elections. The plaintiffs argued that holding elections outside of November in even-numbered years suppressed turnout and especially reduced the number of non-White voters.

District Court Judge S. Kato Crews ruled that the parties did not have standing to sue because they had not been damaged by the law, which has been in place for more than 150 years. The election date on the first Tuesday of April is in the city charter and can only be amended by a public vote.

Colorado Springs residents can register to vote or ask for a replacement ballot through Election Day by going to the City Clerk’s Office at 30 S. Nevada Ave.

Each ballot includes a single question asking voters to support one candidate in their district. Voters fill out the ballot, sign the envelope to certify their vote and submit it. Colorado Springs’ elections are conducted entirely by mail so votes need to be returned by 7 p.m. Tuesday in one of the 28 ballot drop boxes around Colorado Springs.

Residents can use the Ballot Status Search on the city website to see if their returned ballot has been collected and processed. They can also watch a voter turnout map that shows the percentage of votes that have been cast in each district and each precinct within the city, a feature Johnson said seemed popular.

“I’ve said a few times that you can do a little competition in your neighborhood to see who can turn in the most votes,” Johnson said.

Johnson said the initial results for the city elections will be announced around 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday night. Additional rounds of vote totals and updates will be released as elections staff process the results.