Colorado

The deadline to correct a signature discrepancy, provide a missing signature, or submit a missing ID for your mail-in or provisional ballot to be counted in the 2024 General Election is November 13, 2024. If your local election official notifies you that your mail-in ballot was rejected due to signature discrepancies or other issues, you may use the TXT2Cure platform to help resolve it. Find out more here. You can track your ballot using your state’s online tool. 

For more information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.

For more information on state campaign contributions, please visit your state's resource.

Information on local, state and federal candidates and ballot measures may be available here.

Please consider returning your mailed ballot through the mail or to a county drop box if you are able. If you are unsure whether your ballot will arrive through the mail on time, drop it off in-person at either a drop-box or a drop-off location. There are drop-box and drop-off sites located throughout your county. Drop box locations are open 24 hours per day. If you have trouble finding a drop-box or drop-off location, contact your county clerk and recorder. 

Early voting is available and no excuse is required. Early voting is available during regular business hours for 8 days before a primary election and for 15 days before a General election.

Note: Colorado conducts elections primarily by mail. Each county clerk and recorder shall provide one or more early voting polling place(s), each of which shall be accessible to persons with disabilities. Information regarding early voting availability, locations, and schedules may be obtained by visiting your county website or by contacting your county clerk and recorder's office.

Your next election date can be found here https://www.vote411.org/colorado

Contact your local Local Clerk & Recorder for more information.

To be eligible to vote, you must be:

• A U.S. Citizen
• 16 years of age, but you must be at least 18 years old to vote in another election
• A Colorado resident for at least 22 days before an election
  • If you're a Colorado resident who has not lived in the state for at least 22 days right before a presidential general election, you can still cast a provisional ballot. This ballot will only include your vote for president and vice president.
• Not serving a sentence for a felony conviction

Incarcerated Voters & Returning Citizens: 

In Colorado, you only lose your right to vote if you are currently incarcerated for a felony conviction. If you lost your voting rights because of a conviction, you could register to vote immediately after release. Your voting rights are not restricted by pretrial detention, misdemeanors, probation, or parole. 

Voters without traditional residence: 

When registering to vote, providing a residential address is unnecessary if a voter lacks a fixed permanent address. For instance, if a voter resides permanently in an RV, they may utilize a campground as their "home base" for the purpose of voter registration. Similarly, individuals who are unable to afford regular or adequate housing can use locations such as a park, vacant lot, or homeless shelter as their "home base" for voter registration. The voter is allowed to provide any physical location as an address as long as they consider it their "home base." As for mailing addresses, post office boxes can be used. This means that if an unhoused voter selects a physical location without a specific mailing address (such as a park), they can provide a post office as their mailing address. However, it's important to note that post office boxes are never acceptable for residency purposes. 

College students that are residents of Colorado may keep their registration in their hometown and vote by mail.

You must have a valid Social Security Number, Colorado driver’s license or Colorado ID card to register online.

If you do not have any of these forms of ID, please check the appropriate boxes on the paper registration application form. A unique identifying number will then be assigned to you by the state and you will still be registered to vote. However, if the identification section is left blank and you do not check the box(es) indicating you do not have identification, you will not be registered to vote.

Colorado now has automatic voter registration! When you interact with certain agencies, such as the DMV, you usually provide information like your name, address, date of birth, etc. This information is then used to register you to vote in Colorado. The county clerk will verify that they have the complete record to register you to vote. If your record is complete, the county clerk will send a notice to you that you are registered to vote. You can return the notice to either decline to be registered or to affiliate with a political party. If you do not decline to be registered within 20 days after the notice is mailed, and the form is not returned as undeliverable, you are then registered to vote.

For more information please contact your county clerk and recorder or contact your local League for more information.

If you are voting by mail for the first time you may need to provide a photocopy of your identification with your ballot. Voters who recently registered for the first time and are voting by mail are required to provide a photocopy of their identification.

When voting in person you will need one of the following types of identification:

• A valid Colorado driver's license
• A valid identification card issued by the Colorado Department of Revenue
• A valid U.S. passport
• A valid employee identification card with a photograph of the eligible elector issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. government or Colorado, or by any Colorado county, municipality, board, authority, or other political subdivision of this state
• A valid pilot's license issued by the Federal Aviation Administration or other authorized agency of the United States
• A valid U.S. military identification card with photograph of the elector
• A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the elector. A cable bill, a telephone bill, documentation from a public institution of higher education in Colorado containing at least the name, date of birth, and residence address of the student elector, or a paycheck from a government institution are also sufficient forms of identification
• A valid Medicare or Medicaid card
• A certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate
• Certified documentation of naturalization
• A valid student identification card with a photograph of the eligible elector issued by an institute of higher education in Colorado.
• A valid veteran identification card issued by the United States department of veterans affairs veterans health administration with a photograph of the eligible election
• A valid identification card issued by a federally recognized tribal government certifying tribal membership
• A Certificate of Degree of Indian or Alaskan Native Blood
• Verification that a voter is a resident of a group residential facility
• Verification that a voter is a person committed to the department of human services and confined and eligible to register and vote

A Social Security number (or last four digits) is NOT a legal form of identification for voting in person. Neither is any document produced by Colorado's statewide registration system.

Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline

Official results are never available on Election Day. Election officials are working around the clock to count an unprecedented number of ballots, and it’s essential that they take the time to make sure every vote is counted.

For Presidential elections, local results will be certified no later than the 22nd day after the election.

Official election results will be uploaded on Colorado’s Secretary of State website, no later than the 27th day after the election. 

You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation.

If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.

You can ensure we have safe, fair, and efficient elections. Become a poll worker today!

Poll workers – To be an election judge, you must meet the following qualifications:

• Be registered and willing to serve all of Election Day (6am-8pm)
• Be a US Citizen by the day you're scheduled to work
• Be physically and mentally able to perform the duties required
• Attend a mandatory class before each election you work
• Never been convicted of election fraud or any other election offense
• Neither a candidate whose name appears on the ballot in the precinct that you're working in, nor a member of the immediate family, related by blood or marriage to the second degree, of a candidate

You are entitled to compensation, which varies by county.

Student Election Judge Program

Allows Juniors and Seniors in High School (ages 16 & 17) to work at polling places as Student Election Judges. To learn more about qualifications, click here. 

To sign up, contact the CO SOS Poll Judges.

All registered voters receive a mail ballot which may be completed, mailed or dropped off to be received by the county clerk office by 7pm on Election Day.

To vote in person, the Voter Service and Polling Centers (VSPC) are open 8 days before a Primary election and 15 days before a General Election during regular business hours. On Election Days, the Voter Service and Polling Centers are open from 7:00am to 7:00pm.

VSPC are located in each county to provide the following election services: 

• Registration at any time up to and including Election Day
• Change address if registered elsewhere in Colorado
• Drop off completed ballot
• Surrender ballot to vote in person

Contact your county election office for Voter Service and Polling Center locations.

All registered voters receive a mail ballot which may be completed, mailed or dropped off to be received by the county clerk office by 7pm on Election Day.

To vote in person, the Voter Service and Polling Centers (VSPC) are open 10 days before a Primary election and 15 days before a General Election during regular business hours. On Election Days, the Voter Service and Polling Centers are open from 7:00am to 7:00pm.

VSPC are located in each county to provide the following election services: 

• Registration at any time up to and including Election Day
• Change address if registered elsewhere in Colorado
• Drop off completed ballot
• Surrender ballot to vote in person

Contact your county election office for Voter Service and Polling Center locations.

Colorado has a hybrid primary system. If you are registered to with a particular party, you must vote in that parties primary. However, if you are unaffiliated with any political party, you can choose which party’s primary you wish to vote in.

Unaffiliated voters will receive both parties ballots in the mail but must return just one party’s ballot. Or, if voting in person, unaffiliated voters must choose which party’s ballot they want to vote at the polls.

If you have any questions about your state’s primary election, please contact your local election officials.

You may vote provisionally if you meet a specific condition.

Those conditions are:

• You vote outside the county where you live (if you chose this option your provisional ballot will not count if it is determined you voted in the wrong county instead of the correct county.)
• The statewide registration system shows you already voted in the election
• You don't present a valid form of ID

You can register and change your address on Election Day to vote a normal ballot.

After you vote a provisional ballot, you will receive a receipt. This receipt will explain how you determine the status of your provisional ballot.

Provisional ballots will be counted after the voters' eligibility is confirmed and no later than 9 days after a primary, general, odd-year, or coordinated election.

A provisional ballot affidavit is treated as a voter registration application for the next election, regardless of whether the provisional ballot is counted, as long as the affidavit contains all the required information and the voter is eligible to register.

All voters can receive their ballot through the mail as long as they are registered to vote before 8 days before the election. Some voters with a disability may request to access their ballot and vote electronically. For more information about receiving and voting your ballot please contact the Secretary of State.

Under HAVA, each polling place must contain a voting system that is accessible for individuals with disabilities, including for visually impaired voters, in a manner that provides the same opportunity for accessibility and participation (including privacy and independence) as for other voters.

For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource.

Voters in Colorado may register through Election Day. 

To receive your ballot by mail:

• Register to vote or update your voter registration online at www.GoVoteColorado.gov until the 8th day before Election Day.;
• Submit an application through the mail, at a voter registration agency, or at a local driver's license examination facility until the 8th day before Election Day; or
• Submit an application through a voter registration drive no later than 22 days before Election Day.

If you miss the above deadlines, you may still register in-person at your county's voter service and polling center through Election Day.

You may confirm your registration online by visiting www.GoVoteColorado.gov. 

Automatic Voter Registration (AVR)

Colorado now has automatic voter registration! When you interact with certain agencies, such as the DMV, you usually provide information like your name, address, date of birth, etc. This information is then used to register you to vote in Colorado. The county clerk will verify that they have the complete record to register you to vote. If your record is complete, the county clerk will send a notice to you that you are registered to vote. You can return the notice to either decline to be registered or to affiliate with a political party. If you do not decline to be registered within 20 days after the notice is mailed, and the form is not returned as undeliverable, you are then registered to vote.

Employers must grant employees two hours of paid leave to vote, unless polls are open three hours before or after regular working shift.

  To verify your voter registration status

All registered voters will receive mail ballots no later than 18 days before Election Day. You must request a mail ballot by the 8th day before an election in order to receive your ballot in the mail. The County Clerk will then mail your ballot within one business day after receiving your request. You can sign up to track your mail ballot on your Secretary of State website.  

Completed ballots must be received by the county clerk and recorder no later than 7pm on Election Day. Postmarks do not count. Voters are encouraged to drop off their ballots at designated drop off sites or mail the ballot in time to be received by the 7pm deadline. Contact your county clerk and recorder for drop-off locations.

Voters still have the option to vote in person at the Voter Service and Polling Centers (VSPC). You may surrender your mail ballot when you vote in person. Contact your county clerk and recorder for information about your polling center. VSOCs are located in each county and provide the following services:

• Registration at any time up to and including Election Day
• Change of address if registered elsewhere in Colorado
• Drop off of your completed ballot
• Surrender ballot to vote in person

If you ballot is spoiled or you never received it, you can get a replacement ballot from your county elections office, or vote in person at the VSPC.

For information on the types of ID needed when voting, click here.

The voting machine systems used in Colorado are optical scan, DRE and hand-counted paper ballots.

Optical Scan: With this system, you will receive a card or sheet of paper, which you take over to a private table or booth. The card has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen or pencil you fill in a little box or circle or the space between two arrows. When you are finished filling out all the cards, you may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show you how to put the cards in the box. Or in some places, you may feed the completed cards or papers into a computer device that checks your card or paper right there at the polling place to make sure you have voted the way you want to and counts the votes.

Direct Recording Electronic (DRE): This is the newest kind of system in use in the U.S. All the information about who and what you are voting for is on an electronic screen like a TV or computer screen.

There are many variations of DREs because lots of companies are inventing new ones, and many cities, counties and states are trying them out. Usually, after you have signed in, the poll workers will give you a card that you slide into a device to start your voting session.

Some of these devices will show all of the candidates and ballot choices on one big screen. Often, with these big screen devices you push a button next to the name of the candidate you want to vote for (or yes or no on a ballot measure). On other DREs, the screen is set up to show pages. On each screen or page, there will probably be one thing to vote on. For example, on one screen or page, you might vote for president. Then you might move to the next page to vote for senator. Often these small-screen devices have a touch screen, where you touch the screen next to the name of the person you want to vote for. Other devices have a key pad. Some have a keyboard, so you can write in the name of someone you want to vote for.

You let the system know you are finished voting by pushing a button, touching the screen or entering something on a keypad.

Paper Ballots: Paper ballots are one of the oldest ways of voting in America. They are still used in a few places on Election Day. When you come to the polling place, you will get a paper ballot from the poll worker. You take it to the voting booth, and use a pen or pencil to mark a box next to your candidate and issue choices. You then drop the marked ballot into a sealed ballot box.

You can learn more about voting systems by checking out the Elections Assistance Commission's (EAC) resource or through Verified Voting.