The City of Fort Collins for the first time has published a Voter Information Guide as a resource for voters.

Similar to other ballot resource guides, it includes the full text of the 10 Fort Collins ballot measures, as well as a factual summary, what “yes” and “no” votes mean, and a summarized list of pro and con statements for each item.

“Many voters are familiar with the state ‘blue book’ and similar guides that provide information on statewide ballot questions, but historically that has not been available for municipal ballot questions,” said City Clerk Delynn Coldiron. “We hope Fort Collins voters will find this a helpful resource as they consider these questions.”

The guide is published online at www.fcgov.com/elections in both English and Spanish. In addition to the ballot measures, it also includes general election information, a list of all City Council candidates and information about ranked voting, which will be used to elect the Fort Collins Mayor and City Councilmembers in races with three or more candidates.

Including pro/con statements for each ballot measure is a statutory requirement for the Voter Information Guide. In September, community members had an opportunity to provide pro/con statements on these measures; those received were summarized into the statements included in the Voter Information Guide. If no resident statements were received on an item, City staff developed the pro or con statements as required.

2025 Municipal Election

This year, voters in Districts 1, 3 and 5 will elect a City Council representative. All Fort Collins voters will also elect a mayor and will vote on 10 local ballot measures:

• A City Referred Ballot Issue to extend the existing Community Capital Improvement Program tax
• Six City Charter Amendments
• A City Referred Ballot Question relating to the Civic Assembly recommendations for the use of the former Hughes Stadium property
• Two Citizen Initiated Ballot Issues, one to extend the existing Natural Areas Tax and one relating to the use of the former Hughes Stadium property

Larimer County has begun mailing ballots to registered voters. Ballots must be returned to the County by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 4. The preferred method for returning ballots is to place them in an election drop box or to deliver them to a Voter Service and Polling Center. Doing this ensures no break in the chain of custody for your voted ballot and ensures that it gets to Larimer County on time. A list of drop boxes and Voter Service and Polling Centers is available at www.larimer.gov/clerk/elections/voting-and-drop-locations.

Ranked Voting

In the 2025 election, Fort Collins voters will use ranked voting—commonly known as ranked-choice voting—to select a new Mayor and Councilmembers in Districts 1 and 3. In races with three or more candidates, voters can rank all candidates in their order of preference. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of first-round votes, they win. If not, voters’ other choices will be counted over multiple rounds to determine who wins the election.

Because there are only two candidates on the ballot for District 5, that race will not use ranked voting.

More information about ranked voting, including a brief video explaining the process, is available at www.fcgov.com/rankedvoting.

Fort Collins voters approved ranked voting in 2022 with 58.15 percent of the vote; the ballot language specified that it would be implemented for City Council races beginning with the 2025 election.

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