Three related questions about how Douglas County is governed.
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Question 200 asks whether to expand the elected Board of County Commissioners from three members to five. Voters put it on the ballot: more than 20,400 signed the petition, and the Clerk certified it on August 12.
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Question 201 asks how those commissioners should be elected. It gives you two districting options, and you pick one.
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Question 1A was added by the Board of County Commissioners, not by voters. It asks whether every commissioner should keep being elected by the whole county, with no option for district representation.
Yes on 200. Pick one on 201. No on 1A. See your ballot guide.
What are the two options in 201?
In either option, district commissioners live in their district and are elected only by the voters in that district.
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Option 1: five district commissioners.
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Option 2: three district commissioners plus two at-large commissioners elected by the whole county.
Both give your part of the county a commissioner elected by its own voters. Your county. Your call. Pick one, and don't skip 201.
Why vote No on 1A?
1A wasn't on the citizen petition. The Board added it. It asks whether every commissioner should be elected by the whole county. Vote No on 1A, and let each part of the county elect its own commissioner.
Cost and taxes
Will this raise my taxes?
No. The measure contains no tax increase. Any future tax increase would still require approval from Douglas County voters.
How much will this cost?
The ballot says $760,000 to $1.3 million a year, the county's own estimate for two commissioners plus staff. The petition voters signed didn't include a cost. The Board added the cost line when it set the ballot title. Even the top of the range is about two-tenths of one percent of the county budget.
Who draws the districts?
Not the commissioners. County staff draw draft maps, and an independent commission, split evenly between Republicans, Democrats, and unaffiliated voters, approves the plans. No sitting commissioner may serve on it, and any voter can challenge the plan in court.
When would the new commissioners be elected?
The earliest is the 2028 general election, with terms starting in 2029.
Am I losing my vote?
Today every commissioner is elected by the whole county. Under the first option on 201, your vote goes to the commissioner who answers to your part of the county. Under the second option, three commissioners would answer to your vote: your district's commissioner and two elected countywide.