Early voting has started, and some Colorado clerks report uptick

Election judges process primary election ballots at the Denver Elections Division offices on June 28, 2022. (Quentin Young/Colorado Newsline)

While ballots don’t get mailed to Colorado voters until Oct. 11, county clerks were permitted to start handing out ballots to eligible voters as of Sept. 21.

Clerks aren’t required to provide ballots to eligible voters until Oct. 4, but some Colorado counties got an early start. Sept. 21 was also the last day a clerk could send ballots to overseas and military overs. 

In Denver, the clerk’s office has handed out about 150 ballots so far, spokesperson Mikayla Ortega said. Because of staffing issues in 2020, the office did not hand out ballots early for the election that year. Ortega said the office has already received over 600 ballots from overseas and military voters so far, which is double what Denver received in the first week in 2020. 

El Paso County Clerk Steve Schleiker said that as of Friday morning his office had issued 253 “over-the-counter” ballots. 

“So far, the pace has been steady, and while it’s still early, we are seeing an uptick to what this office experienced in 2020,” he said in an email. 

Jefferson County has also seen “a steady stream of voters into our election center since voting began,” according to spokesperson Sarah McAfee. She said the county expects “a very high turnout” overall. 

Boulder County Clerk Molly Fitzpatrick said her office has issued “several hundred” ballots to eligible voters. 

Mesa County Clerk Bobbie Gross said her office has issued 43 ballots in the last week. She said it issued 24 ballots between Sept. 21 and 25 in 2020. 

Colorado voters can ask their county clerk’s office if mail ballots are available yet. Ballots will be mailed to every active eligible voter starting Oct. 11. Ballot drop boxes must be open on Oct. 21, as well as voter service and polling centers. 

If a voter needs to update their voter registration, they must do so by Oct. 28 to receive a ballot in the mail. Coloradans can register and vote in person through Election Day, Nov. 5. County clerks must receive a voter’s ballot by 7 p.m. on Election Day for it to be counted.