Colorado readies for inaugural vote-by-mail general election

Election Day less than a month away and changes await Colorado voters. This November marks the first time a general election in the Centennial State will be all vote-by-mail.

“All I know is I get something in the mail and I fill it out and send back in,” Colorado Springs voter Amanda Martinez said. “This is my first year voting.”

“Before you used to have to opt in to get a mail ballot,” Ryan Parsell with the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office said. “Well, now everybody is opted in. As long as your registration is current, you should get a mail ballot around the middle of October.”

Voters may think this new process is more convenient but one political expert says that convenience factor could lower turnout.

“Elections tend to have an energy and rhythm of their own,” UCCS professor Josh Dunn said. “All of it builds up to Election Day. But by having convenient measures, that energy dissipates so people lose their initiative.

Dunn believes the absentee, vote-by-mail process make candidates work harder to ensure they get the votes they need to win their respective race.

“In an election where you vote same day what you will see are people scoured about, knocking on doors, making sure voters vote,” Dunn said. “They tend to know who their voters are and get them to the polls. Now they must work harder to make sure their people are motivated to vote.”

Same-day registration stills exists and voters can register and then vote on Election Day at one of 25 El Paso County polling centers .

There are 13 drop-off locations in El Paso County. Ballots must be turned in by 7 p.m. November 4.

Ballots will be mailed out starting October 14.