A general municipal election shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April in the year 1996 and on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April in each even numbered year thereafter. Elections held at other times shall be special elections. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes in the November 1993 election shall serve until the fourth Tuesday in April of the year 1998. The candidate receiving the fourth highest number of votes shall serve until the fourth Tuesday in April of the year 1996. The three candidates who received the highest number of votes in the November 1991 election shall have their terms extended to the fourth Tuesday in April of the year 1996.
At all subsequent general municipal elections there shall be elected four council members. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared to be elected for a term of four years and the candidate receiving the next highest number of votes shall be declared to be elected for a term of two years. (Ord. No. 782 § 2 (B).)

There shall be no primary election for any municipal office.

The city shall constitute one voting precinct, provided that the council may for the convenience of voters, establish two or more precincts 30 days or more, prior to any election, by ordinance. The precincts so established by ordinance shall remain for all subsequent elections until otherwise provided by ordinance. (As amended May 6, 1980.)

The term of each council member shall commence on the fourth Tuesday in April of even numbered years immediately following the general municipal elections held under the provisions of this article and shall continue until he/she has served the term of years for which he/she was elected unless he/she sooner die, resign, be removed from office or become otherwise disqualified to act as council member. (Ord. No. 782, § 2 (C).)

The members of the city council chosen to serve as mayor and mayor pro tempore shall be elected on the fourth Tuesday in April, as provided in Section 4, Article IV. The mayor and mayor pro tempore shall serve for a term which shall commence on the fourth Tuesday of April in even numbered years following the general municipal election and shall continue for two (2) years thereafter or until their successors have been chosen and qualified for office as hereinabove provided, unless they sooner die, resign or be removed from office. In the event of a vacancy occurring in either or both offices, the council shall have the power to fill such vacancy in the manner provided in Article IV, Section 21, until the first meeting in April after the next general municipal election thereafter. (Ord. No. 782, § 2 (D).)

Special election shall be called by the city council whenever a measure is required to be submitted to the voters pursuant to the Constitution and laws of the State of Colorado, this Charter, or the ordinances of the city.
The city council may by ordinance also call a special election for a vote of the electorate upon any measure upon petition of the electorate or by referendum, or upon its own initiative, consistent with this Charter; but no special election shall be called to fill a vacancy in an elective office.
No special election shall be called or held within 3 months prior to a general municipal election, except where otherwise required by the Constitution of the state.
Where a petition for a special election if filed pursuant to the provisions of any ordinance, making the calling of a special election mandatory, the repeal of such ordinance or any part thereof, shall not affect the mandate of the petition.

Every petition to have a vote of the electorate on a measure and every ordinance requiring a vote of the electorate on any measure, shall contain a short and concise ballot title for the measure to be voted upon, and the ballot title shall appear on the ballot, as follows:

YES __________ FOR

BALLOT TITLE or

NO __________ AGAINST

Every petition to have a vote of the electorate upon a measure shall name a conference committee of three, who are signers of the petition, and shall contain authority in such committee to make any necessary changes in such ballot title. The council may refuse to submit the measure when any ballot title is unreasonably long, misleading, or ambiguous, unless such committee shall revise the same to conform to such requirements.
If there be more than one measure on a ballot by petition, they shall be numbered in the order of filing, and they shall follow the measures placed on the ballot by initiation of the council.
The list of candidates shall precede the ballot titles on the ballot.

The candidates for council members equal in number to the positions on the council to be filled by any election, receiving the highest number of votes cast, shall be declared elected council members; and any measure submitted to a vote of the electorate shall be declared adopted or approved, as the case may be, when a majority of those voting upon any such measure shall vote “yes” or “for” on any such measure. In case of a tie, the election shall be decided by casting lots. (Ord. No. 906 § 3 (part).)

All provisions of law of the State of Colorado insofar as the same shall be applicable to municipal elections, both general and special, in cities of the second [first] class in the State of Colorado, shall apply to all elections in the city except as otherwise provided in this article. When there shall be a conflict between the provisions of law and the provisions of this Charter with respect to any matter pertaining to elections, the provisions of this Charter shall be deemed to supersede any and all statutory provisions.

Editor’s note: For state law as to municipal elections, see “Colorado Municipal Election Code of 1965,” as contained in CRS § 31-10-101 et seq.

The term “party” as used herein, shall mean and include any group of citizens of the city who shall associate themselves together for the purpose of nominating candidates for office at municipal elections, but shall not be any political party which nominates candidates for election of county, state and national offices.

All elected officers shall hold office until their successors are elected and qualified. Any vacancy in an elective office shall be filled within sixty days by appointment of the council until the next regular election, when the vacancy shall be filled by the electors for the remainder of the term, if any. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term in an elective office shall have the qualifications required of persons to be regularly elected. A vacancy shall exist when a member of the council fails to qualify within thirty days after the commencement of his/her term, or if he/she dies, resigns, removes from the city, or absents him/herself from meetings of the council for sixty days unless excused by resolution thereof, or if he/she is convicted of a felony or is judicially declared a mental incompetent.
The council at its discretion may decline to appoint a new member to fill a vacancy if the vacancy occurs within 120 days of a duly scheduled municipal election. (Ord. No. 906 § 3 (part).)