Douglas County voters to decide whether commissioners remain elected countywide
A conditional ballot question approved Aug. 31 would preserve countywide elections for every commissioner if the board expands from three members to five.
Douglas County voters will decide Nov. 3 whether all county commissioners should continue to be elected countywide if the Board of County Commissioners expands from three members to five.
The board unanimously approved amended Resolution R-026-062 on Aug. 31, referring the question to voters in the 2026 general election. The three commissioners present — George Teal, Kevin Van Winkle and Abe Laydon — voted for the measure, according to the meeting minutes.
The ballot question is:
In the event the Douglas County Board of Commissioners is increased to five members, shall all registered Douglas County voters continue to elect all County Commissioners?
Yes or No
The adopted resolution states that the ballot title is identical to the question. It was adopted Aug. 31 and recorded with the Douglas County Clerk and Recorder on Sept. 1.
The measure would preserve countywide, or at-large, elections for every commissioner if the board grows to five members. It would not expand the board, establish commissioner districts or determine how a potential expansion would occur.
The measure is separate from a proposal to expand the board from three commissioners to five. The county’s Aug. 28 expansion resolution would ask voters whether to make that increase. If approved, the proposal would offer a choice between five district commissioners or three district commissioners plus two commissioners elected at large across the county.
The two proposals address different questions: The expansion proposal asks whether the board should grow and how a five-member board could be structured. R-026-062 asks whether all county voters should continue electing every commissioner if that growth occurs.
The Colorado Secretary of State’s 2026 election calendar lists Tuesday, Nov. 3, as the general-election date.