Committee reviews bill to clarify Australian ballot use for some municipal officers, waives challenges for 2025 elections

The House Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee on Jan. 21, 2025 heard testimony on draft committee bill 25-0668, which would amend 17 BSA §2680(b) to clarify that municipalities may elect “any or all” municipal officers by the Australian ballot and would bar challenges to certain prior and 2025 elections.

The bill, presented by legislative counsel Tucker Anderson, would add statutory language allowing a municipality to put one of two questions on its annual meeting warning: either asking whether to elect a specific office by Australian ballot or asking whether to elect all municipal officers by Australian ballot. Anderson said the change is intended to address ambiguity in the current subsection that has been read by some as an “all-or-nothing” rule.

The clarification matters because, as Lauren Kibert, deputy secretary of state, told the committee, many towns use a mixed methodology — some officers elected by Australian…