Mayoral Election one week away: Colorado Springs voters urged to drop off their ballots

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- We are seven days away from the Colorado Springs Mayoral Runoff Election. Voters have up until 7 pm. on May 16 to turn in ballots.

Ballots can be turned in at one of the 26 ballot drop-off locations. People cannot vote in person for this election.

So far, the Colorado Springs City Clerk said around 23% of eligible voters in Colorado Springs have turned in their ballot. That's about 71,000 ballots out of the roughly 313,000 that were sent out on April 24.

"We were anticipating a little bit more voter turnout, given that this is the runoff election for the mayor position," said Yamilette Rodriguez, Colorado Springs City Analyst.

This runoff election was triggered because no mayoral candidate received more than 50% of the vote, which is required. The two remaining candidates are Wayne Williams and Yemi Mobolade.

There have only been two other mayoral runoff elections in Colorado Springs before, 2011 and 2015. In 2011, there were around 155,000 ballots sent out by the city and roughly 100,000 were returned. In 2015, around 230,000 ballots were sent out and only roughly 99,000 were turned in.

Still, Rodriguez predicts there will be at least an at least 10% increase in voter turnout from where it currently sits.

"In terms of participation, it's pretty similar, in terms of percentage we are hoping that for this election that we will get to at least 35 percent of voter participation," added Rodriguez.

Rodriguez said these elections are essential for residents and she hopes people understand that.

"This is a municipal election, it's an election that directly impacts your life, it is the city you live in the city you participate, so we encourage everyone to please go out and vote," said Rodriguez.  

So far, around 8,000 ballots are considered "undeliverable," meaning thousands of voters made errors on their ballots when turning them in.

The Colorado Springs City Clerk said the biggest mistake voters are making so far is not signing the back of their envelope when mailing it or dropping it off. 

Voters have or will be contacted ahead of the election to fix those mistakes.

As of Tuesday, May 9, District 1 has the highest voter turnout in Colorado Springs.

While people cannot vote in person for this election, city officials told KRDO there is a dedicated machine inside the Colorado Springs Administration Building to help residents who are visually impaired.

For more information, click here for KRDO's 2023 Colorado Springs Mayoral Runoff Election guide