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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - Mail Packet - 9/21/2021 - Election Code Committee Agenda - September 20, 2021 City Clerk 300 LaPorte Avenue PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6515 970.221-6295 - fax fcgov.com/cityclerk AGENDA   City Council Election Code Committee   September 20, 2021, 12:00‐1:30 p.m.   Remote Participation available       Committee Members:  Mayor Jeni Arndt – Vice Chair       Councilmember Tricia Canonico, District 3 ‐ Chair        Councilmember Kelly Ohlson, District 5       Councilmember Julie Pignataro, District 2 (alternate)      Public Participation for Election Code Committee  Watch the Meeting: Anyone can view the Election Code Committee (ECC) meeting live: Join Zoom Meeting https://fcgov.zoom.us/j/93910757534 Meeting ID: 939 1075 7534 Public Comment: Individuals who wish to address the Committee via remote public participation can do so through the link provided above. The meeting will be available beginning at 11:30 a.m. Monday. To participate:  You need to have a laptop or computer with a microphone and/or headset that includes a microphone.  You need to have access to the internet.  Join the Zoom meeting listed above.  Keep yourself on muted status. Note:  If you are unable to participate via Zoom, you may attend the meeting in person (however, we have very limited capacity based on social distancing recommendations).  Alternatively, you may provide comments to the Committee via email prior to 11:30 a.m. at cityleaders@fcgov.com. Emails will be read by City Leaders; however, not read into the formal meeting record.               1. Call Meeting to Order    2. Public Comment ‐ 30 minutes total (limited to 5 minutes per speaker max)    3. Consideration and approval of the August 27, 2021, Committee Meeting Minutes    4. Discussion Items:     Campaign Finance provisions ‐ Staff is seeking clarification on scope.    o Review of campaign finance requirements and process.     o Reverting to the State Fair Campaign Practices Act?   The Colorado Fair Campaign Practices Act was first enacted in 2017.  The  provisions of the FCPA are focused on state candidates but does also cover local  candidates.  There are many provisions in the FCPA that are not applicable to  local candidates.     To eliminate the difficulty in sorting through the FCPA to ferret out the  provisions applicable to local candidates, in 2000, the City Council adopted our  own campaign finance provisions which were based on the provisions of the  FCPA at the time.  The Fort Collins provisions have since been modified several  times to adjust to local preferences.     Redistricting –    o April 4, 2023, Next Election  o October 6, 2022 ‐ Redistricting needs to be complete at the very latest  o September 2022 – Should have an Ordinance on the agenda  o Census release should be available by the end of September 2021  o Start RFP for Consultant  o This item is currently in process.  Staff will provide periodic updates to the Committee as  process proceeds.     November Elections ‐ Moving from April elections to November elections in even years.    Coordinated with Larimer County.  Time constraints/timeline:  o November 2022 election – multiple questions to facilitate transition to November  o Ballot text must be certified to County by Friday, September 9, 2022 (keep in mind that   Charter amendments must be submitted by ordinance)  o Plan on first reading at the second meeting in July 2022, especially if there are any plans   to cancel any meetings in August 2022.  o November 2023 or 2024 – first coordinated candidate election  o No election in April 2023?  o October 18, 2021, meeting for discussion and to detail scope of process.             Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) –   o November 2022 – question seeking voter approval  o Implemented November 2023 (earliest date for the County to conduct ranked choice   voting for a municipality IF the County uses a voting system certified by the Secretary of   State for use in an election using RCV) or 2024 if voters also approved moving to   November election  o Implemented in April 2025 if City election remains separate (April 2023 does not allow   enough time for planning and implementation).  May require RFP/bid process.     Public Financing of Elections – Research is being conducted at this time to gather information   related to comparative municipalities and their associated processes to be presented to the   Committee later.  o Suggested timing for scoping, 1stquarter of 2022.     Election Oversight Board – Research is being conducted at this time to gather information   related to comparative municipalities and their associated processes to be presented to the   Committee later.  o Suggested timing for scoping, 1st quarter of 2022.     Partisan/Non‐partisan elections – Memo forthcoming.     5. Other Business    6. Adjournment    ATTACHMENTS:    1) August 27, 2021, Committee Meeting Minutes        Next Election Code Committee Meeting:  12:00‐1:30 p.m., October 18, 2021                        City of Fort Collins Page 1 August 27, 2021 ELECTION CODE COMMITTEE MEETING 3:00 PM COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: Arndt, Canonico, Ohlson STAFF PRESENT: Carrie Daggett, Kyle Stannert, Ryan Malarkey, Tammi Pusheck, Aimee Jensen CITIZENS PRESENT: None 1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER 2. SELECT COMMITTEE CHAIR/VICE CHAIR Councilmember Ohlson made a motion, seconded by Mayor Arndt, to elect Councilmember Canonico as Chair. Yeas: Arndt, Ohlson, Canonico. Nays: none. THE MOTION CARRIED. Councilmember Ohlson made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Canonico, to elect Mayor Arndt as Vice Chair. Yeas: Arndt, Ohlson, Canonico. Nays: none. THE MOTION CARRIED. 3. DISCUSSION AND DECISION OF MEETING FREQUENCY Vice Chair Arndt asked how frequently the Committee met in the past. City Attorney Daggett replied the meetings were monthly when the Committee was actively working; however, there was a break during the period before the election. She stated resulting Code changes went before Council in August and September of 2020 so those were in effect well before campaigning began and the election occurred. Councilmember Ohlson suggested meeting monthly to start and stated changes should happen earlier to ensure the rules are clear and packets are ready for candidates farther in advance of the election. City Attorney Daggett noted upcoming redistricting will have a relationship to the election calendar. Councilmember Ohlson asked why ranked voting was not listed under agenda item number 6. Interim City Clerk Pusheck replied it was not on the Council priorities list. Councilmember Ohlson stated he would like the topic added to the agenda today. Members agreed to meet once a month by unanimous consent. City Attorney Daggett stated staff would work on getting a schedule in place. 4. DISCUSSION OF MEETING FORMAT INCLUDING PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITIES Councilmember Ohlson suggested public comment should be limited given the working nature of the Committee and open meeting. Vice Chair Arndt agreed and noted all decisions would be made at the full Council level and written public comment is always welcome. She supported one public comment section on all agenda items at the beginning of each meeting and suggested limiting the time to 30 minutes total, at five minutes maximum per person. Councilmember Ohlson concurred with that suggestion. City Attorney Daggett noted the Zoom meeting is currently set to have a chat happening and that may need to be managed going forward. Members agreed they were not interested in seeing the chat. City of Fort Collins Page 2 5. PUBLIC COMMENT Jeff Pace discussed ranked choice voting noting that while there are some positives, including the formation of a consensus candidate, there are also some negatives, including complicated voting that may lead to vote exhaustion. He stated all candidates must be ranked to keep an individual from losing his or her franchise. He also expressed concern ranked voting favors white, well-educated voters over minorities and older voters and commented on cities that have recently done away with ranked choice voting. Kathleen Schmidt, League of Women Voters, commented on plurality voting and stated preferences cannot be clearly expressed when citizens can only vote for one candidate. She stated the League of Women Voters prefers and ranked choice voting to plurality voting to help ensure each person’s vote counts equally and the winner wins with most support. Robbie Moreland encouraged the Committee to recommend adoption of a proposed resolution declaring Council’s support for referring a ranked choice voting ballot measure to the November 2022 ballot. She also encouraged capping election spending and suggested the Committee consider a form of public election funding for which she provided a draft ordinance. Eric Fried supported placing ranked choice voting on the ballot. Emily Gallishote expressed support for placing ranked choice voting on the ballot. Jody Deschanes expressed support for placing ranked choice voting on the ballot. She stated Aspen repealed ranked choice voting as it was improperly implemented. She also requested an update on the redistricting process and timeline and expressed support for moving municipal elections to coordinated Larimer County November elections. Marge Norskog discussed research she has done regarding the number of ballots cast, the number of registered voters, and the number of candidates for recent municipal elections. She stated the City Clerk’s Office should be commended for its handling of the increased number of ballots and coaching of the increased number of candidates; however, she stated leaving election rule monitoring and updating to a part time Council Committee and citizen activists feels inadequate. She expressed support for moving municipal elections to November in a coordinated fashion with Larimer County and expressed support for ranked choice voting. She also suggested the formation of a Board or Commission dedicated to election oversight. 6. DISCUSS AND DIRECT STAFF REGARDING POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION a. Preliminary discussion regarding process and schedule for evaluating whether to move the regular municipal election from April to a coordinated Larimer County November election b. Redistricting c. Review of Campaign Finance requirements and process Vice Chair Arndt stated the Council priority around this was to discuss this possibility and she suggested moving the elections to November of even years. Councilmember Ohlson noted voters will have the final say on the topic. City Attorney Daggett clarified an ordinance proposing a Charter amendment would need to go before voters. Vice Chair Arndt expressed support for coordinated elections with Larimer County. City Attorney Daggett noted that is a requirement for any November election. City Attorney Daggett suggested staff may want to build topics into upcoming agendas based on details and anticipated timing. Councilmember Ohlson stated he would like to have ranked choice voting discussed. City of Fort Collins Page 3 Chair Canonico stated she would like other innovative items being considered at the state level to also be discussed. Members agreed redistricting needs to be discussed. Vice Chair Arndt suggested discussing coordination with the state on campaign finance requirements, discussing public campaign financing, and discussing Board or Commission election oversight. Councilmember Ohlson discussed the importance of ensuring the sources of all campaign contributions are available. City Attorney Daggett commented on the existing Code language related to redistricting and noted it has not been changed to state that redistricting should occur every ten years upon receipt of census data. Vice Chair Arndt asked if expansion of the city limits leads to automatic redistricting. City Attorney Daggett replied annexed districts become part of the adjacent district and that does lead to numbers being unequal. She stated it will be worth considering wither there will be triggers other than the census for redistricting. Councilmember Ohlson commented on the importance of ensuring citizens are not redistricted such that they do not have the opportunity to vote for a Council representative two elections in a row. Councilmember Ohlson suggested discussing changing municipal elections from non-partisan to partisan. Vice Chair Arndt stated Councilmember compensation may need to be discussed as the expectations are not commensurate with the compensation. Members discussed the topic and agreed it should be discussed further for possible placement on a ballot. 7. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned by unanimous consent at 4:26 PM.