On the Boulder Ballot: Ranked Choice Voting

This year, the ballot in Boulder will look different! In 2020, voters passed the “Our Mayor, Our Choice”, which changed how the mayor is elected. Now, the city of Boulder will elect its mayor through ranked choice voting. But what is ranked choice voting and why does it matter?

Information provided by the Boulder County Clerk’s website.

What is Ranked Choice Voting?

Ranked choice voting is a voting method that allows voters to rank election contest candidates in order of preference when there are three or more candidates.

Here’s an example of how it will look on your ballot:

Provided by Common Cause

Rank candidates in the order of your preference by filling in the oval as follows:

  • In the first column, for your first choice.
  • In the second column, for your second choice.
  • In the third column, for your third choice.
  • You can continue to rank candidates until you run out of allowable rankings, run out of candidates, or do not wish to rank any remaining candidates.

Want to practice? Try this interactive practice ballot on the City of Boulder’s website (note: practice ballot may not display properly on mobile devices).

Common errors to avoid:
  • Do not choose more than one candidate in the same column.
  • Do not choose the same candidate more than once.
  • Do not skip rankings. For example, do not fill in a 1st and 3rd choice without filling in a 2nd choice. Per Secretary of State guidelines, no rankings will be counted after a skipped column/ranking.

 

Common errors
to avoid:
  • Do not choose more than one candidate in the same column.
  • Do not choose the same candidate more than once.
  • Do not skip rankings. For example, do not fill in a 1st and 3rd choice without filling in a 2nd choice. Per Secretary of State guidelines, no rankings will be counted after a skipped column/ranking.

 

How are the votes counted?

All first-choice rankings are counted. A candidate who receives over 50% of the first-choice rankings is the winning candidate and no further rounds of tabulation will take place.

If no candidate has more than 50% of the first-choice rankings, the candidate with the fewest first choice rankings is eliminated, and those votes are transferred to the 2nd choice candidate on the ballot. This elimination and transfer process continues until a candidate has more than 50% of the votes. Your 2nd, 3rd, etc. choices are only used if your higher ranked choice(s) are eliminated.

Questions? Check out the Boulder County Clerk’s website for more info! Still have questions? Reach out to Boulder Lead Regional Organizer Kate Kelly at Kate@NewEraColorado.org.