City of Boulder 2E – Initiative, Referendum and Recall Processes

The Campaign Finance/Elections Working Group (CFEWG) proposed 3 charter amendments: 2E, 2F and 2G. Each ballot question can stand alone.

Quoting from an op-ed in the Daily Camera penned by members of CFEWG: “The initiative is where a group of citizens gathers enough signatures to put a proposed piece of legislation on the ballot and asks the voters to approve it. A referendum uses a similar process to give citizens a chance to vote directly on legislation already passed by the governing body. And recalls ask the voters if they want to remove an elected official from office, typically for some serious malfeasance.”

2E proposes changes in 9 different Sections of the charter. Highlights are below.

Section 29
Would replace calendar dates with the date when “ballots are finalized for printing” for handling a candidate withdrawal.

Sections 38A, 56 and 177
Initiative and referenda petitions would require signatures equal to 10% of the average number of people who cast a ballot in the previous two municipal elections. Petitions to recall an elected official – in other words, a city council member – would require 20% of the average number of people who cast a ballot in the previous two municipal elections, likely a decrease from the current 25% of the city vote in the previous gubernatorial election. (2E would eliminate the current Section 38A charter language referring to 5% and 15% petitions. See 2011’s Ballot Question 2G for more information on 5% and 15% petitions.)

Sections 39 and 40 - Proposed Petition Calendar
(DBNE = calendar days before Nov election. Deadlines below may actually refer to the last business day on or before DBNE.)
180 days before filing petition – collect signatures
150 DBNE – file (aka submit) petition with signatures
140 DBNE – clerk certifies sufficiency status
   Within 10 days of clerk’s certificate – resolve insufficiency
120 DBNE - clerk certifies amended petition’s sufficiency status
71 DBNE – council sets ballot title
   Within 7 days of ballot title setting – file any title challenges

Section 48
Prior to the 2017 Ballot Question 2Q, initiative petitioners prepared the ballot title. 2Q gave that power to city council members. This year’s 2E finds middle ground, saying that the groups need to work together to set the ballot title.

Section 54
An initiative or referendum approved by voters “may be amended by two-thirds of the council members present provided that the amendments do not alter or modify the basic intent of such ordinance or are necessary to come into compliance with state or federal law.”

Recommendation: for the measure

Once again Boulder is tinkering with its initiative, referendum and recall processes. (See 2017’s 2Q and 2011’s 2G.) This time, the city council put a group of citizens on the job. The Campaign Finance/Elections Working Group (CFEWG) has recommended these improvements. Some of the members of CFEWG have been personally affected by the charter language and were especially motivated.

Separating the 3 CFEWG charter amendments was a good idea.

Some confusion over dates may still exist even if 2E passes. For instance, in Section 38B one reference is to ten days and another is to five calendar days. How do we interpret the ten days? Ten business days or ten calendar days?

Website for the Yes Side - Campaign Finance/Elections Working Group
https://bouldercolorado.gov/elections/campaign-financeelections-working-group
Not so much a campaign website as a website tracking the progress of the working group

Website for the No Side
No known website – Info on an opponents’ website appreciated.


Approved Ballot Language (with bullet points added for clarity)

City of Boulder Ballot Question 2E – Charter Amendments for Initiative, Referendum and Recall Processes

Shall Sections 29, 38A, 38B, 39, 40, 44, 48, 54, 56, and 177 of the City Charter be amended pursuant to Ordinance 8272 to:
• clarify the actions required to be taken if a candidate withdraws from a city council election;
• establish the number of signatures required for an initiative and referendum to be at least ten percent of the average number of registered electors of the city who voted in the previous two municipal candidate elections so as to return this number closer to the range that was in place prior to changes in federal law and registration procedures;
• establish the number of signatures required for a recall to be at least twenty percent of the average number of registered electors of the city who voted in the previous two municipal candidate elections;
• amend the process and establish a fixed schedule for filing, review and consideration of initiative, referendum, and recall petitions so that both petitioners and city staff will have clarity and certainty;
• set standards for the city clerk’s examination of petitions so that this examination is completed in a timely fashion and that the possibility of fraud is minimized;
• provide for input from the petition committee to the city council prior to setting the ballot title to help ensure accuracy of the title; and
• require that an ordinance passed by vote of the people may only be amended by two-thirds of the council members present, and only if the amendments are consistent with the basic intent of the ordinance or are necessary to come into compliance with state or federal law?

For the Measure ____
Against the Measure ____

See Ordinance No. 8272 to put Question 2E to the voters
https://bouldercolorado.gov/central-records/document-archive then click on Browse City Council Records > Ordinances > 2018 > 8272