Citing concerns of voter confusion and wasted votes, five Denver City Council members are proposing the city change how it elects its two citywide at-large council seats by splitting them into two separate races.

They say the move will also increase voter participation.

Currently, the at-large members are elected on a single ballot, with the top two vote-getters declared the winners, District 2 Councilmember Kevin Flynn said.

Every elected official in Denver, except for the at-large candidates, must be elected by greater than 50% of the vote, city officials said during Monday’s City Budget and Policy Committee meeting.

However, since 1991, nearly a third of votes in the at-large races have been left blank, more than 12 times the amount of undervoting for mayor.

“It’s called single-shot voting, and it’s not good for democracy,” Flynn, one of the amendment’s sponsors said. “We’re literally incentivizing people to waste their second vote so they don’t hurt their preferred candidate, and they’re doing it in massive numbers.”

In the nine elections since 1991, sponsors say at-Large winners have won with vote percentages ranging from 16.6% to 41.03% of the vote. The average winning percentage for the first-place candidate was 32.77%, and the average for the second-place candidate was 24.41%.

In 2023, council districts with competitive races saw more than double to more than quadruple the rate of undervoting in the at-large race compared with the district council races.

Intentionally leaving votes blank as a strategy is “not good for democracy,” said Flynn.

At-large Councilmember Sarah Parady said of Flynn’s comment regarding “wasting” votes “feeds a narrative” that the city’s elections are poorly managed.

“That’s strong language for what may be voter choice, or maybe a degree of voter confusion, or maybe a degree of voters not caring, which are three different things,” Parady said. “But all three of those things could have potentially very different solutions that might not have to involve a charter change.” 

Separate races for the two at-large seats will help voters confidently pick candidates for both seats, amendment sponsors said.

“Adopting this change will increase consistency in Denver elections ensuring that all municipal candidates are elected by a majority vote,” said District 9 Councilmember Darrell Watson, one of five council members sponsoring the amendment.

Two public meetings are scheduled to discuss the issue.

The first is a virtual town hall set for 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Friday, June 13. For more information and a link, visit https://bit.ly/majoritychoices.

The second will be an in-person public town hall is scheduled for 6 to 7 p.m., on June 24 at the Carla Madison Recreation Center, 2401 E. Colfax Ave.

Denver has 11 district-specific city council members and two at-large members.

The proposed bill’s sponsors include Council members Flynn, Watson, Flor Alvidrez, Stacie Gilmore and Amanda Sawyer.

It is expected for its first reading before Denver City Council on June 23 with a second reading July 7.

Should the amendment proposal pass, it will be sent to the voters for the Nov. 4 election.