Longmont City Council Considers Ranked Choice Voting

Study session explores implementing ranked choice voting system for local elections

Published on Mar. 2, 2026

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The Longmont City Council will hold a study session on Tuesday to discuss implementing ranked choice voting for local elections. The presentation will be delivered by the Boulder County Clerk's Office, which has experience overseeing ranked choice voting in Boulder. While no formal action will be taken, the issue has gained momentum among sitting council members, with all but one expressing support during the 2025 campaign cycle.

Why it matters

Ranked choice voting is seen by advocates as a way to reduce the "spoiler effect" and allow voters to support their preferred candidate without worrying about unintentionally helping elect someone else. The issue has become a campaign-season topic in Longmont, and the study session represents an important first step in potentially bringing it to the ballot for voters to decide.

The details

The study session will be informational only, but if support among council members is any indication, the issue is unlikely to fade from discussion. A survey by the advocacy group Ranked Choice Voting for Longmont found that all but one sitting council member expressed support for ranked choice voting during the 2025 campaign. Under ranked choice voting, voters rank candidates in order of preference, and if no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and those ballots are redistributed to voters' next selections until one candidate reaches a majority.

  • The study session is scheduled for Tuesday, March 2, 2026 at 7 p.m.
  • Ranked choice voting became legal for multi-county cities like Longmont on July 1.

The players

Ranked Choice Voting for Longmont

A nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy group that formed around the issue of implementing ranked choice voting in Longmont.

Diane Crist

A Longmont City Council member who did not complete the survey expressing support for ranked choice voting.

Dillon Rankin

The executive director of Ranked Choice Voting for Longmont.

Boulder County Clerk's Office

The office that administers Longmont's coordinated elections and has experience overseeing ranked choice voting in Boulder.

John Lembke

A former at-large City Council candidate in Longmont and the Vice President of Ranked Choice Voting for Longmont.

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What they’re saying

“We are super excited that Council is taking the time to explore how ranked choice [voting] could meaningfully improve our local elections, and it means a lot to us that Council is listening to the many, many members of the community that have registered their support for this change.”

— Dillon Rankin, Executive Director, Ranked Choice Voting for Longmont (Times-Call)

“As a candidate, I saw how real the spoiler effect is.”

— John Lembke, Vice President, Ranked Choice Voting for Longmont (Longmont City Council open forum)

What’s next

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The takeaway

This study session represents an important first step in potentially bringing ranked choice voting to the ballot in Longmont, allowing voters to decide whether to adopt the system. The issue has gained momentum among city council members, raising hopes that it could meaningfully improve local elections by reducing the "spoiler effect" and giving residents more flexibility in supporting their preferred candidates.