City of Longmont

Longmont Council Seats Grouped Into Alternating Elections

ElectionsCharter amendment realigning council electoral cycles

Splits Longmont's council elections so the three at-large seats and the three ward seats are elected in alternating cycles. Takes effect only if 3C passes.

City of Longmont

Kim's Recommendation

Vote No on City of Longmont ballot question 3D

Question 3D exists to serve ranked choice voting. The council made the realignment conditional on approval of 3C. If both questions pass, the three citywide seats would be elected together in 2029. Under 3C, ranked voting would begin then only if certified equipment is available and the Colorado Secretary of State's applicable final rules have been published and are in effect; otherwise, a contest may use plurality voting. On one ballot, the multi-winner count that the Times-Call reported 3C would eventually allow, if the Secretary of State approves it, could fill those seats together. Because I oppose ranked choice voting, I also oppose rewriting the charter's election schedule to prepare the way for it.

The rewrite also shortens two terms that voters have not yet filled: the full-term at-large member elected in 2027 and the Ward 2 member elected in 2029 serve two years instead of four, only to line the seats up.

I recommend a no vote on City of Longmont ballot question 3D.

Kim Monson

Host, The Kim Monson Show · President, Colorado Union of Taxpayers · Colorado Voter's Guide 2026

Certified ballot question

Charter Amendment to Adjust City Council Electoral Cycles

Shall the City of Longmont Home Rule Charter be amended by amending section 3.6 of the Charter to realign the cycle on which members of the Longmont city council are elected so that the three councilmembers elected at-large are elected in one electoral cycle and the three councilmembers elected from wards are elected in another electoral cycle, with such electoral cycles alternating from then on, with such realignment contingent upon voter approval of the measure on the November 3, 2026 City of Longmont ballot requiring the use of ranked choice voting to elect city council members when possible?

A yes vote means

Approves the charter realignment only if Question 3C also passes. The three at-large councilmembers would be elected in one cycle and the three ward councilmembers in another, alternating thereafter.

A no vote means

Keeps the present electoral cycle.

Six Seats on Two Rotations01

Under Longmont's charter, voters elect three council members at large and one from each of three wards to overlapping four-year terms, and a mayor to a two-year term. Today's section 3.6 fills two ward seats and one at-large seat in one election, and one ward seat and two at-large seats in the next.

All At-Large Seats Together02

Question 3D rewrites section 3.6 so that the three at-large seats are filled in one election and the three ward seats in the next, alternating from then on. In a ward year, voters choose the mayor and their ward's member; in an at-large year, they choose the mayor and all three citywide members. The first at-large year, 2029, also carries the Ward 2 seat, so four council seats are on that ballot.

The council gave its reason in Ordinance O-2026-47, adopted August 11, 2026: grouping the seats "could preserve the purpose and intent of the stagger while simplifying it and making it less confusing" for voters working out which seats are on the ballot. The Times-Call reported that the council settled on the timeline now before voters by a 5 to 2 vote, with Councilmember Diane Crist and Mayor Pro Tem Sean McCoy opposed.

Two Terms Cut to Two Years03

To reach the grouped rotation, the new section 3.6 shortens two terms. The at-large member elected to a full term in the 2027 city election serves two years instead of four, and so does the Ward 2 member elected in 2029. Voters have not yet filled either seat, and no sitting member's term changes. After those two, every council member except the mayor again serves four years. The Times-Call reported that the change aligns all three at-large seats beginning in 2029, when ranked choice voting would take effect if voters approve it.

Contingent on Question 3C04

The question makes the realignment "contingent upon voter approval" of Question 3C, the measure on the same ballot requiring ranked choice voting for council elections "when possible." A majority for 3D counts only if 3C also passes; the city then has 20 days to file the amendment with the City Clerk and the Secretary of State, and it takes effect on filing. Question 3C carries no such condition, so ranked voting can begin in 2029 under today's rotation if 3D fails.

The Times-Call reported in July that 3C would eventually allow multi-winner ranked choice voting, which fills several seats in a single contest, if the Colorado Secretary of State's office approves it.

Sources05

Official documents

Boulder County compiled ballot, page 9 — November 3, 2026 election