Fort Collins and Larimer County outline plans for ranked-choice voting ahead of November election

City Clerk Dylan Coldiron and Larimer County Clerk and Recorder Tina Harris told Fort Collins City Council on Tuesday that the city will begin using ranked (ranked-choice) voting for mayor and council contests that have three or more candidates in the November 2025 coordinated election.

The clerks said the city will educate voters on filling ranked ballots and the tabulation process. "Ranked voting gives voters a chance to rank candidates in their order of preference in any race where there's three or more candidates," Dylan Coldiron said. He and Tina Harris showed a short explainer video and interactive exercises to help voters understand reallocation rounds and ballot exhaustion.

Why it matters: Ranked voting is new for Fort Collins and requires voter education to reduce ballot errors and confusion. Officials said the change restored by a 2022 ballot referral won by 58.15% will apply to mayor and council races and could affect local campaigning and ballot administration.

Officials outlined what voters should expect. Tina Harris said the coordinated election timeline will follow state law: ballots will begin mailing in October, election day is Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, and final certification will occur after the signature cure period and the county canvas in late November. Harris told council that daily election-night results will be posted in the usual cadence and that ranked results will be published on the same schedule: "Look for updates no later than 8 p.m., 9 p.m., and midnight," Harris said.

City staff described voter-facing materials already prepared: a web-based mock ballot, an explainer video, an interactive block exercise used at outreach tables, and translated materials. Officials said ballots will allow voters to rank up to 10 candidates; if a race has more than 10 candidates, the ballot will list all candidates but permit ranking only among the first 10 choices.

Council members and clerks discussed operational details: petition and nomination deadlines, how long tabulation may take, and how to handle exhausted ballots. Tina Harris said behind-the-scenes tabulation, adjudication and audit processes will be handled by the county following Colorado Revised Statutes and Secretary of State rules.

Officials asked the community to use the city and county resources rather than social media for questions and noted outreach plans: staffed tables at markets and events, a web-based ballot simulator, and a local "blue book" of candidate information for the fall. The clerks said they had coordinated with the state and neighboring counties to test processes and best practices.

Council next steps: staff will continue voter outreach and finalize ballot formatting and election processes for November; no council action was required Tuesday.