The Broomfield City Council has voted to delay the implementation of ranked choice voting until the 2027 elections.

In 2021, Broomfielders approved the switch to ranked choice voting for city council and mayoral elections. The new type of voting did not go into effect in 2023 because there were never more than two candidates running for any of the open positions. This year, the switch will be delayed again, in anticipation of official auditing rules from the state.

The Colorado secretary of state has agreed to establish rules for auditing ranked voting elections by Jan. 1 2026, extended from the original 2025 deadline. Broomfield staff explained that if the county went ahead with ranked choice voting before those rules were established, they could have to redo some of the work that will go into the switch to comply with the new rules.

Redoing that work would ultimately cost the county more money, and staffers currently estimate the cost to switch to ranked choice voting at $205,000, based on costs incurred by Boulder when it made the switch.

The delay was passed 8-1 in the Tuesday night vote, with Ward 2 Councilmember Austin Ward opposing.

Council members expressed frustration with the delay coming from the secretary of state, saying that the rules for auditing ranked voting should have been created already and available to implement this year. They also said they’re worried that the creation of those rules will be delayed further.

“I think to push off (the switch to ranked voting) is not meeting what the voters had intended, and I do take great issue with that,” Ward said during council comments. “It is concerning that the secretary of state’s office can not find a way in which to promulgate these rules knowing that they’ve had at least two years.”

With the passage of the ordinance to delay the switch, ranked choice voting will not come to Broomfield elections until 2027.

The council’s next meeting will be a study session Tuesday night. Residents can attend in person at the George Di Ciero City and County Building Council Chambers, 1 DesCombes Drive, or online virtually at broomfield.org/128/City-Council.