Colorado bill would require district-based county commissioner elections, offer voters five-member boards

Correction, March 8, 2026: An earlier version of this article stated that HB 26-1203 included ranked choice voting as one of two election methods and mandated five county commissioners for counties over 70,000 residents. Those provisions appeared in the introduced version of the bill but were removed by committee amendments adopted on March 2, before the bill passed committee. The amended bill eliminates ranked choice voting entirely and replaces the five-commissioner mandate with a decennial voter question. Our original reporting relied on the bill summary published on the Colorado General Assembly website and LegiScan, both of which displayed only the introduced version of the bill and did not reflect the committee amendments. We should have obtained and read the amended bill text before publishing. We apologize for the error and thank Rep. Bob Marshall for bringing it to our attention.

DENVER — A bill advancing through the Colorado legislature would end at-large county commissioner elections in Colorado’s largest counties and give voters the chance to expand their boards from three to five members every ten years.

House Bill 26-1203, titled “Modification of County Commissioner Elections,” passed the House State, Civic, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee on March 2 by an 8-3 vote, as amended, and now heads to the Committee of the Whole for a floor vote. The bill has 14 sponsors, all Democrats.

What the amended bill does

The bill makes two principal changes to county commissioner elections in counties with populations over 70,000.

First, all three-commissioner counties over 70,000 must elect their commissioners by district only, ending the current option for at-large elections where all voters in the county vote for all seats.

Second, three-commissioner counties must put a question to voters in each decennial census year (2030, 2040, and so on) asking whether the county should expand to five commissioners. If voters approve, they also choose the election method: either five commissioners elected by district, or three commissioners by district and two at large. The bill does not mandate five commissioners; it requires that the question be asked.

Counties that already have five commissioners must pass a resolution by early 2027 letting voters choose between the two election methods. Home rule counties that already elect more than half their commissioners by district are exempt.

CUT’s opposition

Dave Evans, a board member of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, discussed the bill on The Kim Monson Show on March 5, analyzing the introduced version of the bill before the committee amendments were publicly available.

“The bill never identifies any problem to be solved or any issue being improved,” Evans said. “CUT is very concerned with the state legislature’s insatiable appetite to control and or regulate every living thing in Colorado.”

CUT unanimously opposed HB 26-1203 when it was introduced. The committee amendments removed ranked choice voting from the bill, but the measure’s requirements for district-based elections and the decennial voter question on expanding commissioner boards remain.

County concerns

CBS News Colorado reported that Douglas County’s board voted 2-1 to oppose the bill. Commissioner George Teal called it “a solution in search of a problem” and said, “If the people of Douglas County were to come before the board and ask for five commissioners, of course we would put it on the ballot and let the people choose. This takes away that choice.”

Rep. Bob Marshall (D), one of the bill’s lead sponsors, countered that the bill would give political minorities a voice in county government. “This bill is meant to allow a voice for political minorities, regardless of who the political minorities are,” Marshall told CBS News Colorado.

Evans identified the six three-commissioner counties directly affected by the bill: Boulder, Douglas, Jefferson, Mesa, Larimer, and Pueblo. Adams, Arapahoe, El Paso, and Weld already have five commissioners. Denver and Broomfield, as consolidated city-counties, are excluded.

How Coloradans can take action

The Colorado Union of Taxpayers, which describes itself as “a non-profit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to protecting the rights of Colorado taxpayers” since 1976, unanimously opposes HB 26-1203. Coloradans who want to weigh in on the bill can take action through CUT Engaged, the organization’s legislative action program, which allows citizens to send messages directly to bill sponsors about legislation CUT is tracking.

Disclosure: Kim Monson is president of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers.