Election commission forwards proposed election-code amendments to Castle Rock Town Council

The Castle Rock Election Commission voted unanimously to forward proposed amendments to the town's election code to the Town Council for consideration, including a recommendation that the council clarify how partial terms count toward term limits and that staff report back on enforcement of election-related offenses.

The commission's motion, made during a May meeting, instructed staff to send the redlined ordinance language to council with the commission's suggested edits. Commissioner Charles Fletcher moved the main motion to forward the proposed amendments; the motion passed 4-0.

The amendments are primarily organizational and are intended to align Castle Rock's municipal code with how coordinated elections are run by Douglas County, staff told the commission. "When this code was first written, we did our own elections," a staff member said, and the changes "focus on how we proceed when we coordinate elections." Staff said the code continues to govern matters up until a ballot goes to the county, after which the county follows Title 1 of the state statutes.

Why it matters: the proposed package reorganizes Chapter 2 (Elections) of the municipal code to reflect that the town now usually participates in coordinated elections run by Douglas County. It also includes a few policy changes the commission considered substantive enough to review before council, including stricter reporting for issue committees and counting rules for replacement ballots.

Key provisions and discussion

- Issue-committee reporting: Staff proposed lowering the disclosure threshold for an issue committee so that committees must report contributions and expenditures regardless of whether they reach a specified dollar threshold. "Those issue committees weren't required to report until they either accepted or spent $2,500," the staff member said; the change would require reporting for transparency.

- Replacement ballots: The draft ordinance would change how replacement ballots are handled if the town were to conduct its own election. The commission heard that the town's prior practice of voiding both ballots when a voter returned two was inconsistent with state statute and county practice. "The county process ... just count[s] the first ballot that was returned," staff said, and the amendment would align the town with that approach.

- Term limits and partial terms: Commissioners asked council to clarify whether partial terms served by appointed council members count as full terms for term-limit calculations. Commissioner Charles Fletcher moved a separate recommendation that council define "partial term" for councilmembers; that motion passed 4-0.

- Enforcement and election offenses: Commissioners raised questions about who would investigate or prosecute alleged election offenses in coordinated elections. One commissioner asked whether Castle Rock Police would be expected to enforce such matters. The staff member replied, "This would not involve Castle Rock Police. These would be ... civil issues ... an affidavit would be filed with the town clerk" and referred to the town prosecuting attorney for potential municipal-court action. Commissioners requested that staff consult the town attorney and bring back guidance on enforcement responsibility and risk.

What the commission voted on

- To recommend that Town Council consider the proposed ordinance amendments and the commission's suggested clarifications, including language on partial terms and follow-up on enforcement of election offenses. Motion passed 4-0.

Next steps and context

Staff said the amendments were reviewed with the Colorado Municipal League liaison to ensure no conflict with new state legislation. The commission asked staff to return any clarifying guidance from the town attorney to the commission in a future meeting rather than handling substantive internal deliberations by email. The commission and staff emphasized that most of the proposed changes are technical (deadlines, definitions, reorganization) aimed at aligning the town code with how coordinated elections are now conducted by Douglas County.

Provenance (selected transcript excerpts): - Topic intro: "The agenda memorandum, titled Election Commission, determining election districts for the annexed property. I'll quickly read the executive summary." (transcript block starting 822.985) - Topic finish: "All those in favor, said aye. And we have 4 0." (transcript block starting 2765.9248)

Ending: The commission forwarded the draft ordinance to Town Council for consideration and requested legal guidance on enforcement questions. Staff and the commission did not set a firm follow-up date; staff said it will return with attorney guidance or place the item on a future meeting agenda when more information is available.