SB 18-221

Senate Bill 18-221, also known as "Elect County Commissioners By Districts," changes how county commissioners are elected in Colorado counties with fewer than 70,000 residents. Currently, all voters in the county elect each commissioner, but this bill would allow voters to choose a system where only people living in a specific district vote for their district's commissioner. This change can be initiated either by the board of county commissioners or through voter petitions and affects only future elections, not current terms. The bill has been signed into law, meaning that counties now have the option to adopt this new election method if they choose to do so.

Official Summary

Currently, in a county with a population of less than 70,000, the board of county commissioners consists of 3 members from 3 separate districts, with one commissioner elected from each district by the voters of the whole county. The bill allows the voters of a county to change the method of election so that a commissioner is elected only by voters residing in the district from which the commissioner runs for election. The change can be made either by the board of county commissioners referring a question to the voters or by the qualified electors filing a petition to have the question placed the ballot. Terms of current commissioners are not affected and the change only affects newly elected commissioners. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.) Read More

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