Back in April, we wrote the post below in response to a coordinated effort at City Council of comments against the council’s consideration of potential options to change Englewood’s election rules to be more majoritarian. At Vibrant Englewood, we think that our city’s elections should be decided by the opinions of the majority of voters, which is unfortunately not the case currently.
Even though City Council has now decided not to try to implement any changes ahead of this year’s historic mayoral election, and has also decided not to ask voters to vote on any ballot questions about changing the rules, that hasn’t been enough for everyone. Some supporters of current City Council members who won their seats with less than a majority of the votes cast in their elections now want to make sure that the rules can never change to require majority support to win.
The post below explains why we think Englewood’s election rules would benefit from some changes, and what we think those changes should be. But we also wanted to make sure that the community understands what is being done with this petition, and to encourage Englewood residents not to sign it.
What if I’ve already signed and I changed my mind?: Even if you have already signed the petition, you can still ask to have your signature removed by submitting a written request to the Englewood City Clerk any time before the petitions are filed. Petitions are due this year by August 5th, but it could be filed sooner. So, if you have signed the petition and want your signature removed, do the following:
- Email the Englewood City Clerk: CityClerk@englewoodco.gov
- Provide your full name and address, and briefly state your request to be removed from the petition, including a short description of the subject matter of the petition
- You should receive a confirmation from the clerk if your signature has been successfully removed
Original Post: Ensuring Majority Rule in Englewood’s Historic Mayoral Election
This fall, local elections in Englewood are changing. Englewood residents will directly elect the city’s mayor for the first time in recent history, rather than the mayor being selected from among the council members. Now City Council is considering options for the best way to conduct our elections to select winner that best represent the will of Englewood’s voters.
Ahead of this significant change adopted by the voters, City Council is considering options for the best way to conduct our elections to select winner that best represent the will of Englewood’s voters. Without partisan primaries, Englewood needs a method for determining which candidate is the preferred choice of a majority of the voters, not simply which candidate receives the most votes. When there are more than two candidates running, the typical election process doesn’t guarantee that the person with the most votes is the person that a majority of voters would prefer.
Understanding Our Current System vs. Majority-Winner Options
Under our current “plurality” voting system, the candidate who receives the most votes wins, even if that’s far less than a majority. For example, in a race with five candidates, someone could become mayor with just 21% of the vote – meaning 79% of voters preferred someone else.
The City Council is examining several options to ensure majority rule, including:
- Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV, also called Instant-Runoff Voting): Voters rank candidates in order of preference (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.). If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and those ballots count toward voters’ next choices. This process continues until someone achieves a majority. RCV is used in over 50 jurisdictions across the US including Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Portland, Maine, as shown in the map below.
- Runoff Election: If no candidate receives a majority in the initial election, a second election is held between the top two vote-getters. While this ensures a majority winner, it requires voters to return for a second election, which costs money and often results in lower turnout.
What Happened at Monday’s Council Meeting
At Monday night’s City Council meeting, a vocal group of speakers strongly opposed changing our voting system. These individuals defended the current plurality method that allows candidates to win without majority support – essentially arguing that it’s acceptable for a candidate opposed by most voters to become mayor.
Vibrant Englewood believes the small but vocal group at Monday’s meeting doesn’t represent our city’s values of fairness and inclusive democracy. We firmly support changing to a system where winners must earn majority support, especially for our historic first direct mayoral election.
Why This Matters for Englewood
Ensuring our mayor has majority support is fundamental to democratic representation. A mayor who takes office with only minority support faces questions of legitimacy and may struggle to effectively govern.
With multiple candidates likely to run in this historic first election, the risk of electing a mayor with only 20-30% support is very real without a majority-ensuring system in place. The time to implement these changes is now, well before the 2025 election.
Take Action
If you agree that Englewood deserves elections where winners have majority support:
- Email City Council using the button below. The message will be pre-populated, but we encourage you to personalize it with your own thoughts.
- Attend the next Council meeting on April 21st to voice your support during public comment.
- Share this post with neighbors and friends who care about fair elections in Englewood.
Let’s make sure Council knows that Englewood wants fair elections that truly represent the majority of our residents.
The button above will generate an email to send to the City Clerk’s email address, who will then provide it to all City Council members. If the button doesn’t open your email program, you may want to try a different browser or a private window without any pop-up blockers.
Election Details
The City of Englewood will hold a mail ballot election coordinated with Arapahoe County on November 4, 2025. Voters will elect:
- A Mayor (Four-Year Term) – Englewood’s first directly elected mayor in recent history. The mayor will still perform the same functions as the current Mayor, with the City Manager responsible for the day-to-day city administration.
- A Municipal Judge (Four-Year Term)
- City Council Representatives from Districts 2 and 4 (Four-Year Terms)
All municipal elections are nonpartisan, and candidates must meet specific qualifications including age, citizenship, and residency requirements.
Learn More
To learn more about ranked-choice voting and its benefits, visit FairVote.org.
ballot measure City Council petition voting
Last modified: July 8, 2025
