Municipal Initiative Petition Guidelines

• Municipal Initiative: A municipal initiative proposes an ordinance, resolution, or other measure to the City Council. The City Council can choose to adopt the ordinance, resolution or measure or submit the ordinance, resolution or measure to a vote of the electors.
• Charter Amendment Initiative: A charter amendment changes the City of Boulder’s Home Rule Charter. All charter amendments must be submitted to a vote of the electors. A charter amendment can be initiated by electors or the City through an initiative process that is different than the process for initiating other matters.
• Referendum: A referendum gives the people of the City of Boulder the power, through an election, to approve or reject legislative measures previously passed by the City Council or submitted by the Council to a vote of the electors.

A Municipal Initiative Petition is the document you use to describe the ordinance or other action you want to propose that city council either adopt or submit to voters. It is circulated to collect the required number of signatures of registered electors of the city of Boulder to bring the matter forward to council.

When preparing your Petition draft, use the Petition format and Cover Sheet provided for you at bouldercolorado.gov/elections and included at the end of this document. This Petition format has been approved to conform to applicable law.

Generally, the form of the Petition and circulator affidavit must be consistent with applicable law as prescribed in section 31-11-106, C.R.S., except where the Boulder Charter or City Code has different requirements and as noted below. The City Clerk requires that Petitions be printed on pages eight and one-half inches wide by eleven inches long, with a margin of two inches at the top for binding; the sheets for signature shall have their ruled lines numbered consecutively and shall be attached to a complete copy of what is proposed, printed in plain block letters no smaller than 8-point font. The form of warning prescribed by the clerk is as follows, to be printed on each page of the Petition in 10-point or larger font, and in red color:

"WARNING: IT IS AGAINST THE LAW: For anyone to sign any initiative or referendum Petition with any name other than his or her own or to knowingly sign his or her name more than once for the same measure or to knowingly sign a Petition when not a registered elector of the city of Boulder who is eligible to vote on the measure. DO NOT SIGN THIS PETITION UNLESS YOU ARE A REGISTERED ELECTOR OF THE CITY OF BOULDER AND ELIGIBLE TO VOTE ON THIS MEASURE. TO BE A REGISTERED ELECTOR YOU MUST BE A CITIZEN OF THE CITY OF BOULDER, COLORADO, AND REGISTERED TO VOTE. Do not sign this Petition unless you have read or have had read to you the proposed initiative or referred measure or the summary in its entirety and understand its meaning. "

All pages of paper petitions pertaining to the measure must contain the names and addresses of at least five registered electors of the City of Boulder who shall be officially regarded as the Petition committee, pursuant to Boulder Home Rule Charter section 38. For communication with the Petition committee, the clerk’s office requires email addresses for all committee members.

Additionally, Petitions shall be worded clearly and simply, so the Petition is not misleading or likely to cause confusion to voters. Petition drafts shall present the ballot measure in such a manner that a vote for the measure would be a vote for the proposition and that a vote against the measure would be a vote against the proposition. Petitions shall contain a circulator affidavit signed in the presence of a notary or other qualified official.

Prior to obtaining any signatures on the Petition, the committee of Petitioners shall submit the proposed Petition form to the city clerk, as the City Manager’s designee, for review and comment, pursuant to Boulder Home Rule Charter section 38B. The clerk will respond with written comments concerning the format or contents of the Petition within 10 calendar days. The Petitioners may amend the Petition in response to some or all of the comments received from the city clerk. The clerk will respond with written comments within 5 calendar days for re-submitted Petition forms. If substantial amendments are made to the Petition that are not in response to the city clerk comments, the amended Petition shall be re-submitted for comment. If the Petitioners fail to submit the proposed Petition form, or any substantial amendment to the proposed form, prior to obtaining signatures, the city clerks may refuse to accept the Petition for filing.

Once the Petition has been approved, it may be circulated for signatures. To be valid, each signature on the Petition must be that of a registered elector of the City of Boulder. Each registered elector shall sign and print his or her name, the address at which he or she resides, including the street number and name, the city or town, the county and the date of signing. Circulators must be at least 18 years of age at the time a Petition section is circulated for signatures. Petitioners are permitted to gather signatures in public forums. However, on private property, petitioners must obtain consent from property owners to gather signatures on their property prior to gathering signatures. Pursuant to Boulder Home Rule Charter section 39, the signatures on the Petitions must be dated no more than 180 days prior to the date the Petition is filed with the city clerk.

Each petition packet will contain no more than 50 signatures per packet. The number of valid signatures needed for 2026 is 3,418. The number is calculated to be at least 10% of the average of the number of registered electors of the city who voted in the previous two municipal candidate elections pursuant to Boulder Home Rule Charter section 38A.

Municipal initiatives must be filed with the city clerk no later than the 160^th day prior to the election. If the 160th day falls on a weekend or holiday, the Petition is due the last business day before the weekend or holiday. For 2026 the 160^th day is Wednesday May 27^th, 2026 and all petitions are due that day by 5:00 pm.

To submit a completed Petition, please call 303-441-4222 to schedule an appointment with the city clerk’s office. Allow 1-2 hours for the appointment. All sections of the Petition must be complete and filed together, along with the Initiative Petition Cover Sheet. The clerk will reject any attempt to file more sections after that appointment unless a certificate of insufficiency has been issued. The clerk must examine the Petitions and submit a written determination of whether the Petition is sufficient by the 15^th calendar day after the 160^th day before the election. The inspection may consist of examining the information on the signature lines for patent defects, comparing the information on the signature lines with a list of registered electors provided by the county, or any other method of inspection reasonably expected to ensure compliance. During the review period, the petition committee must cease circulation of petitions and cannot gather more signatures.

If the Petition is found to be insufficient, it may be supplemented with additional signatures within 10 days from the date of the finding of insufficiency. Petitions containing supplemental signatures must conform to all of the requirements for municipal initiatives, including the requirement that all sections of the Petition are filed at one time at a pre-scheduled appointment with the city clerk’s office. If the Petition is supplemented, the clerk again makes an examination to determine the sufficiency of the Petition, within 15 days of the new filing. If the Petition is sufficient, the clerk shall certify it as such. If the Petition is still insufficient, the clerk will notify the Petition committee and file the Petition in Central Records. However, even if there has been a final finding of insufficiency, a new Petition on the same measure may be filed at a later time.

The clerk must certify a Petition to the city council no later than 120 days prior to the election. For 2026, that day is July 6^th. The certified Petition is then submitted to the city council at its next regular meeting. City council will read the Petition, set the ballot title and hold a public hearing. Pursuant to Charter section 48, the council shall seek the input of the committee of the Petitioners prior to setting the ballot title. The final action includes either adopting the initiative or placing it on the ballot.

Reminder

This document provides general guidelines only and is not intended to be either an exhaustive study of the petitioning process nor legal advice.

Residents who are considering the petition process are advised to consult independent legal counsel and to review the Boulder Home Rule Charter and statutory provisions cited below.