Click Here for PDF of Proposed Revisions
Proposed Revisions of LWVBC Positions For Action and Proposed Studies
The LWVBC 2023 Positions For Action meetings were held in-person on Saturday, Feb 18th at Frasier Meadows and virtually on Wednesday, February 22nd. Members proposed five revisions to our LWVBC positions and two studies. At the annual meeting in May, members will be asked to vote on whether or not to adopt the revisions and the studies. Please review the details of the proposals below. Proposed deletions are crossed out and proposed additions are underlined.
Proposed Revision #1
The proposed revision is for the first paragraph as shown below.
- Government
Boulder County Government Structure
(Adopted 1988, Revised 2000, 2019)
The League supports the present form of Boulder County government. The League supports increasing the number of county commissioners from three to five. Until Boulder County has the option to elect county commissioners using a method which promotes proportional representation, the League supports three commissioners elected from districts and two elected at-large.
In principle, the League supports county home rule as an option. In evaluating any proposed home rule charter, we support the following criteria:
1. The county clerk and sheriff should be elected. Other county officials should be appointed.
2. A home rule charter should set some professional qualifications for appointed officials.
3. There should be no tax limitation written into a home rule charter.
Explanation: The first sentence is immediately contradicted by the second sentence. The county has other commissioners besides county commissioners, e.g., Planning Board Commissioners, so our position should specify county commissioners.
Proposed Revision #2
The proposed revision adds a new bullet point #3 which will renumber the current 3-6 to 4-7.
- Government
Elected Municipal Offices
(Adopted 2000, amended 2008 to encompass Boulder County)
A residency requirement of 6 to 18 months for elected municipal officers is reasonable. If a …
…..
2. A system of staggered terms in which at each election, voters have the opportunity to elect at least half of those who will sit on the municipal governing body.
3. The League supports using a voting method which promotes proportional representation in municipal governing body elections.
4. Rules regarding the financing of municipal election campaigns and the disclosure of significant sources of campaign funds;
5. The availability of the referendum, the initiative, the recall, and public hearings, in order to provide citizens with the means to express their concerns;
6. Restrictions on communication among elected officials outside of open public meetings;
7. Reasonable compensation for elected officials.
Explanation: The LWVUS Voting Representation / Electoral Systems Position supports proportional representation for elected bodies.
Proposed Revision #3
The proposed revision replaces a word for clarity.
- Government
Voting Procedures in Boulder County
(Adopted April 1996, amended 1997, 2002 with Longmont League concurrence)
Voting procedures in Boulder County should provide for accuracy, reliability, security and privacy. Methods Procedures should be voter friendly and should encourage voter participation.
Explanation: Voting methods refers to Plurality, Approval Voting, Instant-Runoff Voting, etc, and has its own program position so we want to change “methods” to “procedures” to avoid confusion.
Proposed Revision #4
The proposed revision adds two new paragraphs.
- Government
Voting Methods
(Adopted 2017)
The League supports authorizing and implementing alternatives to plurality voting that allow people to express their preferences more effectively. The League supports gaining on-the ground experience with alternative voting methods in order to ascertain whether a voting method results in outcomes that match voters' preferences as recorded on their ballots. The League supports voting methods that improve the election experience, that encourage honest voting rather than tactical voting*, and that considers ease of implementation. Considerations:
- Some voting methods are intended for single-winner elections, others for multi-winner elections. It is important that the intended use of a voting method match its actual application. Multi-winner voting methods promote proportional representation which fosters diversity of our elected officials.
- Election officials should conduct post-election analysis to evaluate the voters' usage of the voting method and the election's reflection of voters' stated preferences. There should be sufficient data transparency – for example, access to ballot records in anonymous form – for an independent analysis to be conducted by other interested groups.
For all election contests, except for uncontested races, election officials should report the number of undervotes, overvotes, and invalid votes. Candidate vote counts in multi-winner plurality contests should be reported as a percentage of ballots for better public understanding of support for candidates.
*A voting method encourages “honest” voting when it allows voters to meaningfully support all their preferred candidates, rather than leading them to either not support their favorite or “tactically” indicate a higher preference for a candidate who is not their favorite.
Explanation: The proposed changes are relevant to improving ballot design, security and voter engagement. The Voting Methods Team has already studied and advocated for displaying election results as presented below. Team members have written LWVBC Voter articles, published a Boulder Beat op-ed, been interviewed on KGNU, asked about these changes in Vote411, and contacted the Sec of State’s office about better reporting of election results.
Proposed Revision #5
The proposed revision adds the paragraph shown below.
III. SOCIAL POLICY
Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley Schools
(Adopted August 1969, revised 1975, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1990, 2003, amended 2008 to include St. Vrain Valley district schools, revised 2012)
The League supports an education program characterized by adequate coordination and financing, long-range planning and open channels of communication.
The League supports using a voting method which promotes proportional representation in school district governing body elections.
School Finance: K-12 funding in Colorado is a state/local partnership. School districts should manage their funds responsibly and transparently, allowing for periodic citizen input both through district-sponsored public forums and elections. A complete annual audit of the budget and any bond or foundation monies should be available for citizen inspection. The budget should reflect district goals and priorities. Taxpayer monies for education should be used to support only public education. …
Explanation: The LWVUS Voting Representation / Electoral Systems Position supports proportional representation for elected bodies.
Proposed Study #1
Our Voting Methods Team is proposing a study leading to consensus that will revisit our position on county commissioner election structures, specifically electing three county commissioners from districts and two elected at-large.
Background: In 2019 the Voting Methods Team held community meetings about a citizen effort to increase the number of county commissioners. That year the team also led the effort to insert the phrase “Until Boulder County has the option to elect commissioners using a method which promotes proportional representation” in the existing position.
Does LWVBC continue to support the 3D2AL (3 from districts; 2 at-large) option for non-proportional elections? It has been our position for more than 2 decades so it might be time to revisit it. If LWVBC no longer supports the 3D2AL option, which method does LWVBC support? Given the activity of the LWVBC Voting Methods Team, this study might be feasible to conduct quickly.
Four options exist in CO Revised Statutes to elect 5 county commissioners:
30-10-306.7(2)(a)
(I)
- 5DeAL - Commissioners reside in 5 different districts but are all elected at large
- 5D - Commissioners reside in 5 different districts and are all elected only by the district electorate
(II) NOT APPLICABLE – for counties with only 3 commissioners
(III)
- 3D2AL - Three commissioners reside in different districts and are elected only by the district electorate. The other two commissioners are elected at large.
- 3DeAL2AL - Three commissioners reside in different districts and two commissioners may live anywhere in the county. All are elected at large.
Proposed Study #2
Our Voting Methods Team is proposing a new study leading to consensus on primary election reform.
Across the US significant changes are being proposed and enacted for primary election processes. Here in Colorado, bills have been introduced to abolish the assembly process for selecting primary candidates for the major political parties. The Voting Methods Team’s interest in ensuring that better voting methods are used whenever possible leads to a proposal to study primary election processes so that we can make clearly supported recommendations when similar bills or initiatives arise.
Questions a primary reform study may address include, but are not limited to:
- What do we envision as the role of primaries? What problem(s) do they exist to solve?
- Should we have primary elections at all?
- Who should be eligible to vote in each primary election? Should primaries be open, semi-open, or closed?
- Should primaries be partisan or non-partisan?
- What role should political parties play? Should they be able to nominate candidates? Should they be able to endorse candidates on the ballot?
- Should we use fusion balloting?
- How many candidates should advance to the general election? Should this depend on the office in question or the voting method being used in the general?
- What voting methods should be used in primary elections? What voting methods for the general election will best complement primary reform?
- What should be done about presidential primaries? In addition to all the above questions, there are questions related to how different voting methods in different states should interact, and whether there should be a final vote at a convention or whether the top candidate, as determined by the results aggregated across states, should be nominated directly.
- How should primaries work in multi-winner elections? The US Representative for Boulder County is a co-sponsor of the US Fair Representation Act (FRA). What should be the structure of a multi-winner congressional primary under the FRA?
- How specific should our recommendations be? Do we want to endorse a single reform, list many possible reforms as options we want to see implemented in different places, or what?
- Does LWV have any criteria for candidate ballot access? If not, should we consider this topic? SB23-101 and the 2020 Initiatives 316, 317, and 318 all wanted to get rid of the assembly process in Colorado which is how major parties get candidates on the primary ballot and minor parties get candidates on the general ballot. Expect to see this issue come up again.
- What kind of ballot access should be available for primary elections?