Louisville Taking Office After Election Certification

Louisville's mayor and councilmembers take office "at the first regular meeting of the Council following their election," under Section 3-4(b) of the city's Home Rule Charter. The charter requires the council to meet regularly at least twice each month. Ordinance No. 1930, Series 2026, which refers Question 2D, states that "in many circumstances, the election results will not be certified by Council's first meeting following the election." City staff told the council that the present timing falls before certification and "may be problematic for races that may be too tight to immediately call." In such a race, the present wording can seat a candidate before the certified count confirms who won.

The ordinance, which the council set for second reading and a public hearing at its July 21 meeting, refers the change to voters. It strikes "their election" from Section 3-4(b), a subsection no other Louisville question on the ballot touches, and inserts "certification of the election results." A newly elected mayor or councilmember then takes office at the first regular council meeting after the results are certified.

The ordinance states that election results "are not final until they have been certified in accordance with State law," which must occur no later than 22 days after the election under the Uniform Election Code of 1992. Certification is increasingly taking longer, the council states, for reasons related to higher turnout, mail ballots and the requirements for military and overseas voting. City staff surveyed 17 Colorado municipalities, among them Boulder, Broomfield, Erie, Lafayette, Longmont and Superior. Eleven of the 17 wait until after election certification, or longer, to seat elected officials, according to staff.

Mayors and councilmembers still serve four-year terms, and each still takes and files an oath with the city clerk before taking office. The subsection's holdover rule stays: officials "continue in office until their successors have been elected and take office," so members whose seats are on the ballot keep serving until the certified winners are seated. Section 3-3(f) treats a city employee or a member of a city board or commission who wins a seat as having resigned that position on the date of taking office, and that date moves with the new timing. Louisville holds regular city elections in November of odd-numbered years; the next is in November 2027. The amendment adds no tax, fee or debt.