Aurora council votes to put charter amendment on Nov. 3 ballot to move municipal elections to even-numbered years

The Aurora City Council voted 6–2 on July 27 to submit a charter amendment to city voters that would move regular municipal elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years and implement one-time shortened terms to maintain staggered seats.

Council member Jackson, who introduced the ordinance, said the change is intended to boost voter turnout by aligning municipal races with higher-turnout even-year elections. “What we see is that during even-year elections the voter turnout is higher, and we want to make our voting process more effective and reach more voters,” Jackson said.

Members of the public who spoke in favor included Hashim Coates and Juan Marcano. Coates told the council, “Any colleague who votes in the negative is actually in support of voter suppression,” and urged support to expand participation. Marcano, a Ward 4 resident, said moving to even-year elections is a proven method to increase local turnout and cited examples of other Colorado cities that made similar changes.

The ordinance (Item 13b) would begin the transition in 2030. To achieve alignment and keep staggered terms, the measure would shorten certain terms by one year as a one-time change; the city attorney clarified that officials elected last year would retain their current four-year term and that the shortened terms apply to the transition schedule described on the ballot.

The council debate touched on costs and campaign dynamics: opponents warned that placing local, nonpartisan races on longer ballots with federal and state contests could bury them and increase campaign costs. Still, supporters said co-facilitating campaigns could build broader coalitions. The measure will appear to voters as a yes/no question on November 3, 2026.