Vote Yes on 2G in support of majority Denver outlined in a graphic with stars and text in orange and blue.

Require ALL Denver Officials Be Elected By A Majority Vote

Currently, at-large city councilmembers are the only officials who can be elected without receiving a majority of the vote in Denver. This proposal would require at-large city councilmembers to be elected with a majority of the vote like other elected offices in Denver.

Former At-Large Councilmembers Agree Vote Yes on 2G

Debbie Ortega
Denver City Council At-Large Member 2011-2023
District 9 Member 1987-2003

“The current system for electing at-large members has resulted in only three people of color being elected in the last 56 years. But in the same time, the majority election used for all other offices that includes the runoff has resulted in people of color elected as mayor a majority of the last 14 elections.”

Doug Linkhart
President of the National Civic League
Denver City Council At-Large Member 2003-2011

“Separating the two at-large seats would be a benefit to local democracy and representation. Requiring that all Council members receive a majority vote helps elect candidates with broad support, and establishing two separate positions helps voters distinguish among candidates, improving accountability.”

Today, the two At-Large City Councilmembers are elected different than every other elected official in Denver. All candidates for the two At-Large seats run in one race and a registered Denver voter votes for their top two favorites. The two candidates that receive the most votes win. You can see in the image what our last ballot looked like in 2023 for the At-Large race.

How Are At-Large City Councilmembers Currently Elected?

Denver’s 2023 Municipal Ballot

Since 1991 At-Large Councilmembers have been elected with between 16.6% to 38.9% of the vote with the average being 28.6% while all other elected officials in Denver have been elected with a majority - over 50% - of the vote.

Why is the current election process a problem?

Frequently Asked Questions

  • 2G will require At-Large Councilmembers to be elected by a majority of voters like all other Denver electeds.

  • Denver City Council placed 2G on the ballot. After several years of looking at ballot reform they selected to place this on the ballot. The ordinance was sponsored by Councilmembers Kevin Flynn, Darrell B. Watson, Flor Alvidrez, Stacie Gilmore, and Amanda Sawyer.

    You can read the entire ordinance here.

  • Currently in Denver all elected officials except the At-Large Councilmembers are elected by a majority of the vote. 2G would require the two At-Large Councilmembers to be elected just like the rest of Council - by a majority vote.

  • 2G would separate the two at-large positions into two races - seat A and seat B.

    Individuals would decide whether they wanted to run for seat a or seat b.

    They would then run in the citywide municipal election and if one person in the race didn’t receive a majority of the vote the top two vote getters would proceed to the municipal run-off election just like every other elected office in Denver.

  • Back in 1968 voters expanded council to 13 seats and changed the council elections to be partisan.

    Three residents sued saying the partisan elections violated the Colorado Constitution and a the Colorado Supreme Court agreed with them.

    Following that court ruling a Denver District Judge ordered the city to allow plurality winners. Thus, creating the system we know today.

  • In research done by the City of Denver City Council led by Councilman Kevin Flynn 33 of the largest 100 US cities have at-large members.

    Only 6 of those cities use a single ballot plurality method like Denver.

    25 cities use a two-round election system with 9 of them requiring a majority vote and 16 making majority wins more likely like Denver does with the rest of our elected officials like Mayor, Auditor, Clerk & Recorder and the rest of City Council.

What would the ballot look like if 2G passed?

Using the 2023 Denver Councilmember At-Large election as an example this is what the ballot could look like. Each candidate would decide if they wanted to run in Seat A or Seat B.

Ballot Question

Shall the Charter of the City and County of Denver be amended to change the method for electing the two at-large councilmembers by designating a Councilmember-at-large seat A and Councilmember-at-large seat B and requiring that a candidate for election to either seat be elected in the same manner as the Mayor, Auditor, and Clerk and Recorder?