The Denver City Council Finance and Governance Committee on June 24 advanced a charter-change proposal that would place the city's two at-large council seats on separate ballots so each seat must be won with a majority of votes. The committee voted to send the measure to the full council by roll call (ayes: Amanda Sawyer, Diana Romero Campbell, Paul Cashman, Daryl Watson; nays: Sarah Gonzalez Gutierrez, Amanda Lewis, Amanda Sandoval).

Sponsors, led by Councilmembers Daryl Watson and Kevin Flynn and joined by several co-sponsors, said the change would align at-large elections with how other citywide officials are elected (50% plus one) and reduce the practice they described as "single-shot" voting — where some voters cast only one of two available at-large votes on a single ballot. Watson told the committee that the proposal would "ensure majority winners as required of all other Denver city officials." He cited historical context for the seats and presented election data he said demonstrated elevated undervote rates in at-large contests.

Sponsors provided several statistics in support of the change: across nine at-large elections since 1991 the average first-place vote share was 32.77% and the average second-place share 24.41%; in the last three elections, committee documents cited undervoting in at-large races at approximately 3.5 times the rate of undervoting in contested district races. Sponsors argued a separate-seat approach would eliminate the single-shot incentive and produce majority winners.

Two public commenters from Together Colorado spoke against the measure in committee. Jana Everett told the committee Together Colorado opposes separating the two at-large seats and urged implementation of ranked-choice voting (RCV) for city offices instead. Marilyn Ackerman, also speaking from Together Colorado, said the proposal would not fix low turnout or educate voters and could discourage potential candidates.

Councilmembers were divided during committee debate. Supporters such as Councilmember Stacy Gilmore said a majority requirement better assures constituents that an official holds a true majority of support; Gilmore referenced constituent concerns about representation in specific neighborhood issues. Opponents raised procedural and outreach concerns. Council President Amanda Sandoval said she had not seen enough early outreach and said she planned to vote no in committee. Councilmember Sarah Gonzalez Gutierrez requested additional research and stakeholder engagement, including deeper consultations with voting rights and community organizations; sponsors said they had briefed several groups and planned additional town halls.

Councilmember Kevin Flynn and others described alternatives and related reforms that are active in Denver politics, including separate proposals to implement ranked-choice voting and other election changes. Sponsors characterized this separate-seat majority proposal as a focused, short-form change to align at-large elections with the city's other municipal offices and restore what sponsors described as the original intent for majority outcomes.

The committee vote sends the proposal to the full council for consideration; committee members emphasized that advancing the item does not imply final support on the floor and several members said they will reserve their final vote for the full council debate.