DENVER – Data released Monday by Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams show that more than 600,000 people have already cast their votes for the 2018 mid-term elections in our state.
By law, every registered voter in Colorado will receive a ballot in the mail prior to an election. As of October 1, around 3.9 million people were registered to vote with 3.3 million of them considered active voters.
Broken down by party affiliation, Monday’s numbers suggest Republicans have been more eager to return their ballots early than Democrats with approximately 2,400 more ballots returned (219,064 to 216,653.) Unaffiliated voters have returned 176,143 ballots.
The early voting enthusiasm is remarkable for Republicans considering the fact that they are outnumbered by Democrats and Unaffiliated voters. As of September, there were 1,007,948 active voters registered with the Democratic Party compared to 979,204 with the Republican Party and 1,236,592 who are Unaffiliated.
During the 2016 election, when turnout was close to 75 percent, there were nearly 2.9 million total votes cast. Turnout was lower in the 2014 mid-term election at roughly 57 percent with just over 2 million total votes cast.
Election Day is next Tuesday, November 6. To update your registration, view your sample ballot, check your mail ballot status, or find an in-person voting location or ballot drop-off location, visit www.govotecolorado.com.
