Municipal Election Draws Record Ballots; City Outlines Next Steps for Recounts and Certification

Fort Collins Voters Cast More Than 42,000 Ballots for the April 6 Municipal Election; the Highest Number in Any City Election to Date

Ballot Collection & Processing

As of Wednesday, April 7, all ballots have been counted except:

• Ballots from uniformed and overseas voters – 1,333 ballots were mailed to these voters in the initial mailing. City Code allows up to eight days following the election for these ballots to be received, provided they were mailed before or on election day.
• Ballots that were missing signatures or had signature discrepancies – 145 letters have been sent to those voters. City Code allows up to eight days following the election for these ballots to be corrected and received.
• Precinct ballots have been withheld to help protect the votes’ secrecy that comes in for the above two items.

In total, the City expects approximately 1,100 additional ballots to be processed. The City Clerk’s Office will collect ballots from uniformed and overseas voters and affidavits from voters who are correcting ballots with signature discrepancies up until 5 p.m. April 14. No additional counting of ballots will occur during this time.

Recounts

The final ballot count will be conducted on April 15. At that time, all remaining outstanding ballots (as described above) will be counted, and any races that require automatic recounts will be identified.

Automatic recounts occur when the difference between the highest number of votes cast for an office and the next highest number of votes cast in the same is less than or equal to 0.5% of the highest number of votes cast.

Example:

• • Candidate 1: 2,500 votes
  • Candidate 2: 2,489 votes
  • 2,500-2,489 = 11 votes
  • 11 votes divided by 2,500 = 0.44%
  • A recount would be required in this case.

On April 16, the Board of Elections will certify election results.

April 16-21 is the window of time to request a recount. A recount can be requested by any candidate for office, any petition representative for a ballot issue or question, any committee’s registered agent, or an eligible elector. A recount must be paid for by the person requesting the recount.

All recounts, whether mandatory or requested, must be completed by May 1.

Swearing-In

If no recount is requested by April 21, the election will stand as certified, and the elected Mayor and Councilmembers will be sworn into office. Currently, April 27 is the scheduled organization meeting for the new Council where oaths of office will be given, and a Mayor Pro Tem will be selected.

If any recount activities are not complete to continue with the April 27 meeting, the organization meeting will be held on May 4.

For any questions about the election process or next steps, please contact the City Clerk at 970-221-6515.