County of Boulder 201 – Vote for Only 1 District Commissioner or for 3 Commissioners (1 District and 2 At-Large)

Statute requires that Question 200 be paired with at least two electoral options out of four listed in state statute. The four options are
5 districts but cmsrs elected at large,
5 district cmsrs elected by district voters,
3 districts plus 2 at large, all elected at large,
3 district cmsrs elected by district voters and 2 at large

Big Tent Boulder County’s petition chose the second and fourth options. Currently, county voters get to vote in all the county commissioner contests. Under Question 201, voters will only get to vote for one commissioner (option 2) or 3 commissioners (option 4).

Recommendation: 3 district commissioners, 2 at large

There are good reasons NOT to vote for the 5-district option. With the 3 + 2 option, you get to vote on 3 commissioners and you get to vote every 2 years. With 5 commissioners elected by district, you only get a say in electing 1 commissioner, and the electorate only weighs in every 4 years on their one seat. Another concern is that a district commissioner may only pay attention to her or his corner of the county with her or his voters rather than to the entire county. Water, agriculture and fracking are just some of the issues that deserve a county-wide perspective.

With 5 district commissioners, candidates can only run for commissioner every four years. With the 3+2 option, a candidate can run in any even-numbered year. Many state legislators run for county commissioner because commissioner pay is better, you don’t have to travel to Denver and you have more power as one of 3 or 5 commissioners than as one of 35 senators or 65 representatives. Matt Jones ran for county commissioner in 2012 halfway through his senate term, won, and then a political party vacancy committee chose his replacement. If he had had the option of running for an at-large seat when his term was up, he might have finished out his senate term and let the entire electorate choose his successor.

Website for the Yes Side – Big Tent Boulder County
https://www.bigtentboco.org/

Website for the No Side – No on 5 Commissioners
https://www.noon5commissioners.com/


Approved Ballot Language
Boulder County Ballot Question 201

If the membership of the Boulder County Board of Commissioners is increased from a three member board to a five member board, by what method shall the Boulder County Board of Commissioners be elected? (Vote for One)
___Five commissioners resident in districts to be elected only by voters resident in the district; or
___Three commissioners resident in districts to be elected only by voters resident in the district; plus two commissioners resident in any district to be elected by voters of the whole county.

Resolution 2025-056 to refer 200 and 201 to the voters
https://assets.bouldercounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Res_2026-056_ballot-measure.pdf