8 CCR 1505-1-26 - [Effective until 10/30/2024] Ranked Voting Method
26.1 A local government may only conduct a
ranked voting election if there are three or more candidates who have qualified
for the ballot for that contest, or when there is a combination of at least two
candidates who have qualified for the ballot for that contest plus at least one
qualified write-in candidate.
26.2
A local government conducting a ranked voting election that is coordinating
with the county clerk must give notice to the county clerk no later than 100
days before the election. If the county's voting system is not capable of
conducting a ranked voting election, the county clerk is not required to
coordinate.
26.3 The designated
election official of a jurisdiction that will conduct an election using a
ranked voting method must provide voter instructions.
26.3.1 The voter instructions must include,
at a minimum:
(a) A brief explanation of
ranked voting;
(b) Instructions on
how to properly mark a ballot;
(c)
A description of how ballots will be counted;
(d) An example of a properly marked paper
ballot;
(e) For instructions that
will be posted at a polling location, an example of how to properly vote an
in-person ballot; and
(f) Contact
information for the designated election official of the election.
26.3.2 In a coordinated election,
the county clerk must include the instructions in the county's election
plan.
26.4 The
designated election official of a jurisdiction conducting a ranked voting
election must include instructions on the ballot showing how to properly mark
the ballot. For elections in which ranked voting is not the only voting method
used, the designated election official must format the ballot in a way that
will allow the county to conduct all audits and reporting required by law and
rule, including reporting results of ranked voting races by precinct, and may
place the ranked voting races on a separate ballot card.
26.5 Tabulation of instant-run-off elections
26.5.1 In any ranked voting election in which
only one candidate will be elected to office, the designated election official
must follow the tabulation procedures described in this rule.
26.5.2 During the first round of tabulation,
the designated election official must tabulate the first-choice ranks on each
ballot.
(a) A candidate who receives over 50
percent of the first-choice ranks on each ballot is the winning candidate and
no further rounds of tabulation will take place.
(b) If no candidate receives over 50 percent
of the first-choice ranks on each ballot, the designated election official must
continue to the next round of tabulation.
26.5.3 During the next round of tabulation,
the candidate with the fewest first-choice ranks in the first round is
eliminated and the eliminated candidate's votes are transferred to each
ballot's next-ranked continuing candidate.
(a)
If, after receiving the transferred votes, a continuing candidate receives over
50 percent of the votes cast on active ballots, that candidate is the winning
candidate and no further rounds will take place.
(b) If no candidate has over 50 percent of
the votes cast on active ballots after the second round, the designated
election official must repeat additional rounds of tabulation as described in
this Rule, until there is a winning candidate.
26.5.4 If the combined votes of two or more
candidates with the lowest vote totals in the current round are less than the
number of votes for the continuing candidate with the next-highest number of
votes, then the candidates in the lowest-vote group are eliminated.
26.5.5 In any round, if two or more
candidates tie for the lowest number of votes, the eliminated candidate must be
chosen by lot, unless the candidates may be eliminated simultaneously under
Rule 26.5.4.
26.5.6 If only two
continuing candidates remain after a round and they have the same number of
votes, the winning candidate must be chosen by lot.
26.5.7 The designated election official need
not report election night results under Rule 11.9.4, unless directed by the
Secretary of State.
26.6
Tabulation of ranked voting elections using the single transferable vote method
26.6.1 In any ranked voting election where
more than one candidate will be elected to an office, the designated election
official must follow the tabulation procedures described in this
rule.
26.6.2 During the first round
of tabulation, the designated election official must tabulate the first-choice
ranks on each ballot.
(a) If the number of
winning candidates is equal to the number of seats to be filled, then no
further rounds will take place.
(b)
If the number of winning candidates is less than the number of seats to be
filled, the designated election official continues to the next round.
26.6.3 During the second round of
tabulation, the designated election official must calculate each winning
candidate's surplus votes, as described in Rule 26.6.4, and transfer those
votes proportionately to any continuing candidate.
(a) After the votes are transferred, if the
number of winning candidates is equal to the number of seats to be filled, no
further rounds will take place.
(b)
After the votes are transferred, if the number of winning candidates is less
than the number of seats to be filled, the designated election official must
eliminate the continuing candidate with the fewest first-choice votes, surplus
votes from winning candidates, and, when applicable, votes transferred from
eliminated candidates. The eliminated candidate's votes must then be
transferred to each active ballot's next-highest-ranked continuing
candidate.
(c) After each
eliminated candidate's votes are transferred, if the number of winning
candidates is equal to the number of seats to be filled, no further rounds will
take place.
(d) After each
eliminated candidate's votes are transferred, if the number of winning
candidates is less than the number of seats to be filled, the designated
election official must conduct additional rounds of tabulation as described in
this rule until all seats are filled.
26.6.4 To calculate a winning candidate's
surplus votes in any round, the designated election official must:
(a) Determine which winning candidate
received the most votes in any round.
(1) In
the first round, this will only include first-choice votes cast for the winning
candidate.
(2) In subsequent
rounds, this will include first-choice votes cast for the winning candidate,
votes transferred from eliminated candidates, and surplus votes from other
winning candidates.
(3) If two or
more winning candidates tie for the most votes in any round, the designated
election official must first count the surplus votes of the candidate chosen by
lot.
(b) After
determining which winning candidate received the most votes in any round,
calculate that candidate's surplus fraction.
(c) After calculating a winning candidate's
surplus fraction, tabulate the number of votes cast for the next-highest-ranked
continuing candidate on every ballot cast for the winning candidate. Then
multiply each of those votes cast by the winning candidate's surplus fraction
and add the resulting transfer value to any continuing candidate's total as
described in Rule 26.6.3(b).
(d) In
any round with more than one winning candidate, repeat this process for each
winning candidate in the order of highest votes received.
26.6.5 In any round, if two or more
candidates tie for the lowest number of votes, the designated election official
must determine the eliminated candidate by lot.
26.6.6 The designated election official need
not report election night results under Rule 11.9.4, unless directed by the
Secretary of State.
26.7
After determining voter intent in accordance with the Secretary of State's
Voter Intent Guide, the designated election official must count improperly
marked ballots as follows:
26.7.1 An overvote
invalidates the overvoted rankings and all lower rankings marked for that
contest on the ballot.
26.7.2 A
skipped ranking and any lower ranking must be ignored.
26.7.3 A candidate who receives a duplicate
ranking on a single ballot is credited with the highest ranking marked by the
voter. All other rankings for that candidate must be ignored.
26.8 Reporting results of a ranked
voting election
26.8.1 The designated election
official must ensure anonymity of a voter's rankings in the ballot image report
required by section
1-7-1003(7)(a)(II),
C.R.S. In precincts with ten or fewer voters, the ballot image reports must be
combined with another precinct.
26.8.2 The comprehensive report required by
section 1-7-1003(7)(a)(III),
C.R.S., must include results in the summary report by precinct.
26.8.3 The designated election official must
submit the final reports required by section
1-7-1003(7)(a),
C.R.S., to the Secretary of State no later than the twenty-second day after the
election.
26.9 Auditing
a ranked voting election or race. The designated election official must audit
each ranked voting race in accordance with this Rule before the canvass board
certifies official election results.
26.9.1 In
a coordinated election, if all winning candidates are determined in the first
round of tabulation, the county clerk must conduct a risk-limiting audit under
Rule 25.2 . In all other cases, the audit board must verify the accuracy of the
voting system's tabulation of the ranked voting contest by hand counting the
votes in at least one precinct, or in one percent of all precincts in which the
ranked voting contest appeared on the ballot, whichever is greater.
26.9.2 No later than 15 days before election
day, the designated election official must appoint an audit board.
(a) In a coordinated election, the audit
board must consist of electors nominated by the major political party county
chairpersons, except as otherwise provided by an intergovernmental
agreement.
(b) In any other
election, the members of the audit board must be nominated and appointed as
provided by applicable law or ordinance.
(c) At least two members of the canvass board
must observe the audit, and members of the canvass board may serve as members
of the audit board.
(d) The
designated election official, members of their staff, and other duly appointed
election judges may assist the audit board in conducting the audit.
26.9.3 The designated election
official must convene a public meeting on the tenth day after election day to
randomly select by lot the precinct or precincts to be audited. The designated
election official must post notice of the public meeting at least seven
calendar days in advance. The notice must include a description of the random
selection lot method. The designated election official must give notice of and
submit to the Secretary of State a list of the precincts randomly selected for
audit by 5:00 p.m. on the tenth day after election day.
26.9.4 Conducting the audit.
(a) The audit board must locate and retrieve
all ballot cards containing the ranked voting contest for the randomly selected
precincts from their storage containers, and verify and maintain documented
chain-of-custody of all voted ballots.
(b) The audit board must first confirm that
the number of ballot cards located and retrieved for the audit equals the
number of ballot cards with the ranked voting contest tabulated in each
randomly selected precinct.
(c) For
each ranked voting contest, the audit board must hand count the ballots cast,
following the counting method set forth in Rule 26.5 for instant runoff voting
contests, and in Rule 26.6 for single transferable voting contests.
26.9.5 The designated election
official must report the results of the audit to the Secretary of State by
mail, fax, or email by 5:00 p.m. on the last day to canvass. The audit report
must contain:
(a) The number of ballots
audited for each ranked voting contest;
(b) The voting system's tabulation of the
ranked voting contests for the randomly selected precincts;
(c) The audit board's hand count of the
ranked voting contests for the randomly selected precincts;
(d) The audit board's statement that its hand
count confirmed the voting system's tabulation or an explanation for any
discrepancies identified; and
(e)
The signatures of the audit board, the canvass board members who observed the
audit, and the designated election official.
26.9.6 The designated election official must
segregate and seal and preserve as election records all materials used during
the ranked voting audit, including all tabulation reports, the audited ballots,
and the audit report.
Notes
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