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Voting in Colorado
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The policies governing voter participation are enacted and enforced primarily at the state level. These policies, which include voter identification requirements, early voting provisions, online voter registration systems, and more, dictate the conditions under which people cast their ballots in their respective states.
This article includes the following information about voting policies in Colorado:
- Voter registration details, including deadlines and eligibility requirements.
- In-person voting details, including identification requirements, poll times, and early voting provisions.
- Mail-in voting deadlines and rules.
- Details about Voting rules for people convicted of a felony.
- Contact information for election agencies.
Click here for more information about election administration in the state, including voter list maintenance policies, provisional ballot rules, post-election auditing practices, and additional election policy context.
For information on elections happening this year, click here.
Do you have questions about your elections? Looking for information about your local election official? Click here to use U.S. Vote Foundation’s election official lookup tool.
Voter registration
The table below displays voter registration information specific to Colorado's 2025 election cycle.
Eligibility and registration details
- Check your voter registration status here.
In Colorado, an individual can pre-register to vote if they are at least 15 years old. Voters must be at least 18 years old to vote in any election. A voter must be a citizen of the United States and have established residence in Colorado to vote.[1]
Colorado voters can register to vote through Election Day. However, in order to automatically receive a absentee/mail-in ballot, a voter must register online, through the mail, at a voter registration agency, or driver's license examination facility at least eight days prior to Election Day. A voter that registers through a voter registration drive must submit their application no later than 22 days before the election to automatically receive an absentee/mail-in ballot. A voter can register online or submit a form in person or by fax, email, or mail.[1][2][3]
In-person voting
The table below displays in-person voting information specific to Colorado's 2025 election cycle.
Poll times
- See also: State poll opening and closing times
In Colorado, polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time for those who choose to vote in person rather than by mail. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[4][5]
Voter identification
- See also: Voter identification laws by state
Colorado requires voters to present non-photo identification when voting in person. If voting by mail for the first, a voter may also need to return a photocopy of his or her identification with their mail-in ballot. Click here for more information.
The following list of accepted forms of identification was current as of August 2025. Click here for the most current information, sourced directly from the Office of the Colorado Secretary of State.
| “ | The following documents are acceptable forms of identification:
Any form of identification listed above that shows your address must show a Colorado address to qualify as an acceptable form of identification. The following documents are also considered acceptable forms of identification for voting:
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” |
- Note: SB 1, signed into law on May 12, 2025, specified that tribal IDs issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service, or another federal agency were also valid identification.
Early voting
- See also: Early voting
Colorado uses a vote-by-mail system exclusively, so there is no need for explicit absentee or early voting procedures, except for those who cannot or do not wish to vote by mail.
County officials automatically send mail ballots to every elector in active status beginning 18 to 22 days before the election. The last day on which officials can mail a ballot to a voter is eight days before the election.
Colorado law requires county officials to open and operate polling locations called Voter Service and Polling Centers (VSPCs) starting 15 days before the election through Election Day, excluding Sundays. For primary and November coordinated elections, VSPCs must be open starting 8 days before the election. Eligible voters can visit any VSPC in their county of residence to do any of the following:[8][9]
- Void their mail ballot to vote in person,
- Register to vote,
- Update an existing voter registration record,
- Obtain a mail ballot "over-the-counter," or
- Vote in person on paper ballots or accessible voting devices.
Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.
Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia permit no-excuse early voting.
Mail-in voting
- See also: Absentee/mail-in voting and All-mail voting
The table below displays absentee voting information specific to Colorado's 2025 election cycle.
Colorado conducts what are commonly referred to as all-mail elections. In Colorado, voting is conducted primarily, although not necessarily exclusively, by mail. Election officials automatically distribute mail-in ballots to active electors starting 18 to 22 days before an election. Colorado law requires county clerks to operate polling locations (Voter Service and Polling Centers, or VSPCs) starting 15 days before an election and continuing through Election Day, excluding Sundays. At these locations, eligible voters can do any of the following:[10]
- void their mail-in ballots to vote in person,
- register to vote,
- update existing voter registration records,
- obtain mail-in ballots, or
- vote in person via paper ballots or accessible voting devices.
Local election officials
Do you need information about elections in your area? Are you looking for your local election official? Click here to visit the U.S. Vote Foundation and use their election official lookup tool. |
Voting rules for people convicted of a felony
In Colorado, people convicted of a felony are disenfranchised so long as they are incarcerated; those on parole, probation, or with unpaid restitution and fines regain their right to vote.[11]
Voting rights for people convicted of a felony vary from state to state. In the majority of states, people convicted of a felony cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.[12]
Contact information
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about election administration in Colorado can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Colorado County Election Offices
Secretary of State
- 1700 Broadway Suite 550
- Denver, CO 80290
- Phone: 303-894-2200
- Fax: 303-869-4861
- Email: elections@sos.state.co.us
- Website: http://www.sos.state.co.us/
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
- 633 3rd Street NW, Suite 200
- Washington, DC 20001
- Phone: 301-563-3919
- Toll free: 1-866-747-1471
- Email: clearinghouse@eac.gov
- Website: https://www.eac.gov
Explore election legislation with Ballotpedia
Try Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation TrackerBallotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker provides daily updates on legislative activity related to election policy in all 50 states.
Our election policy experts translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries. And because it's from Ballotpedia, our legislation tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.
Read Ballotpedia's State of Election Administration Legislation ReportsBallotpedia publishes regular analysis of election administration legislation, including three full reports per year, providing ongoing coverage of legislative activity affecting election policy in each state.
These reports deliver insights into partisan priorities, dive deep into notable trends, and highlight activity in key states.
Subscribe to The Ballot BulletinThe Ballot Bulletin is a weekly email that delivers the latest updates on election policy.
The newsletter tracks developments in election policy around the country, including legislative activity, big-picture trends, and recent news. Each email contains in-depth data from our Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's election coverage
- United States Senate Democratic Party primaries, 2026
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2026
- Democratic Party gubernatorial primaries, 2026
- Democratic Party Secretary of State primaries, 2026
- Democratic Party Attorney General primaries, 2026
- State legislative Democratic primaries, 2026
- United States Senate Republican Party primaries, 2026
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2026
- Republican Party gubernatorial primaries, 2026
- Republican Party Secretary of State primaries, 2026
- Republican Party Attorney General primaries, 2026
- State legislative Republican primaries, 2026
See also
- State of Election Administration Legislation Reports
- Voter ID in Colorado
- Election administration in Colorado
- Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Colorado
Elections in Colorado
- Colorado elections, 2025
- Colorado elections, 2024
- Colorado elections, 2023
- Colorado elections, 2022
- Colorado elections, 2021
- Colorado elections, 2020
- Colorado elections, 2019
- Colorado elections, 2018
- Colorado elections, 2017
- Colorado elections, 2016
- Colorado elections, 2015
- Colorado elections, 2014
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "Voter Registration FAQs," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Colorado Voter Registration Form," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Go Vote Colorado," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Mail-in Ballots FAQs," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ LexisNexis, "Colorado Revised Statutes, § 1-7-101," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Acceptable Forms of Identification," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ This information came directly from the Colorado Secretary of State's office via email on September 13, 2016.
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Election Rules (8 CCR 1505-1)," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ This information came directly from the Colorado Secretary of State's office via email on September 13, 2016.
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Voters with Convictions FAQs," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Restoration of Voting Rights for Felons," accessed August 6, 2025
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