Colorado

Election Day: 

On Election Day, Voter Service and Polling Centers (“VSPCs”) will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time.  If a voter is in line at or before 7:00 p.m., the polling center must remain open until the voter has cast their vote.

Early Voting:

In Colorado, voters are also permitted to vote prior to Election Day.  All active registered voters will receive a mail ballot, which they can mail in or drop off at a designated ballot drop box or VSPC.  Alternatively, if a voter wants to vote in person, they can visit a VSPC in their county.  Prior to Election Day, VSPC and ballot drop box hours may vary, but a minimum number of VSPCs must be open from June 20-June 28, 2022.  To find a VSPC or drop-off location in the correct county and to verify its hours, visit www.GoVoteColorado.gov.. 

How to Find Your Polling Place: 

To find a VSPC in your county, visit 

www.GoVoteColorado.gov

Registration Deadlines

• For registration deadlines, see How to Register below.

How to Check Your Registration: Voters can determine whether they are registered to vote at the following link: Am I Registered?.

You are eligible to vote in Colorado if you:

• Are a U.S citizen
• Are a resident of Colorado
• Are at least 18 years old by Election Day
• Be a resident of Colorado for 22 days before Election Day

You are NOT eligible to vote in Colorado if:

• You are under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony

For further information, please see US Vote’s [Colorado Ex-offender and Misdemeanor Voting Rights](https://www.usvotefoundation.org/ex-off-voting-rights/colorado/) page.

You may preregister to vote in Colorado

• At the age 16

How to register 

• Colorado State Primary Election
  • Apply Online: Online by Mon Jun 20, 2022
  • Post received by Mon Jun 20, 2022
  • Same Day Registration & Voting begins Mon Jun 20, 2022
  • Same Day Registration & Voting ends Tue Jun 28, 2022

Registration Deadlines: 

Voters can register up to and on Election Day, so long as they have been in the state for 22 days immediately before the election and are otherwise eligible to register.

However, for a voter to receive a mail ballot, the voter must submit their paper registration/update form or online registration/update eight days before Election Day or submit an application through a voter registration drive no later than twenty-two days before Election Day.  For the 2022 primary election, the deadline to register and receive a ballot by mail is June 20^th for the June 28^th primary election or June 6^th if registering through a registration drive.

VSPCs will open on June 13^th.  They will remain open through Election Day and voters can go to any VSPC in the county where they live and update their registration to receive a regular ballot.  To verify a location’s dates and hours, visit: www.GoVoteColoarado.gov. 

How to Check Your Registration:  To view and update voter registration information, visit: Find My Voter Registration.  Search for voter registration by entering the requested information, then click “Search”.  To edit voter registration, a voter must provide their social security number, driver’s license number, or ID card number.  Alternatively, a voter can contact their county clerk and recorder’s office. 

Registration Eligibility:  In order to be eligible to vote in Colorado, a voter must:

• Be a citizen of the United States;
• Have resided in Colorado 22 days immediately before Election Day;
• Be at least 18 years of age or older on Election Day; and 
• Not be serving a sentence of confinement or detention for a felony conviction. 

How to Register: 

A voter can register to vote in Colorado in one of the following ways:

1. Online (requires a valid Colorado driver’s license or Colorado Department of Revenue ID)
Register to vote online using the Colorado Secretary of State’s website  on line registration

2. Mail, Fax, or Email
Fill out and sign the Colorado voter registration application located at: printable form  Print, sign, and return the form to the county clerk and recorder’s office.  

3. In Person 

In-person voter registration is also offered at:

• A Colorado Department of Motor Vehicle office when you apply for a driver’s license, renew, or update your driver’s license information.
• All offices that provide public assistance, including offices of state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities.
• Recruitment offices of the U.S. armed forces.
• Any federal, state, or local government office or nongovernment office that chooses to provide voter registration service or applications.  
• A Voter Service and Polling Center (VSPC).
• A voter registration drive.

Identification Required for Registration:  If a voter has a Colorado driver’s license or ID card issued by the Colorado Department of Revenue, they must provide that when they register.  If they do not have one of those documents, they may register using the last four digits of their social security number.  If a voter has none of the above, they may register by mail, fax, email or in person without identification, but must provide a form of identification if they vote in person at a VSPC, or a photocopy of their identification when they return their mail ballot.

If You Want to Vote Absentee, requests may be made:

• In-Person
• By Mail

Absentee Ballots may be returned:

• In-Person
• By Mail

Colorado State Primary Election

Ballot Request:

• Automatic

Ballot Return:

• Received by Tue Jun 28, 2022 7:00PM MDT

Early Voting:

• Early Voting from Mon Jun 20, 2022 to Tue Jun 28, 2022

Voter Registration

To register to vote in Colorado you should provide one of the following:

• Your Colorado Driver’s License Number
• Valid ID card issued by the Department of Revenue

If you do not have these IDs, you may provide:

• Last Four Digits of your Social Security Number
• Or, state that you do not have the requested ID number/s

If you are registering to vote for the first time by mail, you will need to provide a copy of a valid ID. Acceptable forms of ID include:

• Valid Colorado Driver’s License except one issued to an individual that is not a United States citizen
• Valid ID card issued by the Department of Revenue
• Valid US Passport
• Valid Employee Photo ID from Federal or State government
• Valid Military ID
• Valid Pilot’s ID
• Utility Bill, Bank Statement, Government Check, or Paycheck that Shows your current name and address
• Medicare or Medicaid Card issued by the government
• Certified Copy of US Birth Certificate
• Certified Copy of Naturalization Document
• Valid Student ID
• Any Valid ID Issued by US Department of Veterans Affairs
• Valid Tribal ID
• Certificate of Degree of Indian or Alaskan Native blood

Any form of identification listed above that shows your address must show a Colorado address to qualify as an acceptable form of identification. Utility bills should be current within 60 days of the Election.

Voting In-Person

In Colorado, you need to show a valid ID to vote. You can use any ID from this list:

• Written correspondence from the county sheriff indicating the voter is confined in jail or detention facility
• Valid ID with photo issued by a Government Agency
• Valid ID card issued by the Department of Revenue
• Valid Colorado Driver’s License
• Valid US Passport
• Valid Pilot’s ID
• Utility Bill, Bank Statement, Government Check, or Paycheck that Shows your current name and address
• Certificate of Degree of Indian or Alaskan Native blood
• Medicare or Medicaid Card Issued by the Government
• Certified (Copy) of US Birth Certificate
• Certified (Copy) of Naturalization Document
• Veteran Health ID Issued by US Department of Veterans Affairs
• Valid Tribal ID
• Valid Military ID
• Valid Student ID
• Verification that you are a Resident of a Group Residential Facility
• Verification that you are Committed to the Department of Human Services, and Eligible to Register and Vote

If the ID you use has an address, it must be an address from Colorado. Utility bills should be current within 60 days of the Election. A driver’s license or identification card issued to not lawfully present and temporarily lawfully present individuals under Part 5 of Article 2 of Title 42, C.R.S. is not an acceptable form of ID. Any document produced by Colorado’s statewide voter registration system is not an acceptable form of ID for voting.

Identification Requirements to Cast a Ballot 

One of the following forms of identification is required to vote in person.  In addition, voters voting by mail for the first time who did not register online or show an ID when they registered must provide a photocopy of their identification with their mail-in ballot.  If they receive a mail ballot and are required to provide a photocopy of their ID, the ballot will be marked to indicate this requirement.

• A valid Colorado driver’s license; 
• A valid identification card issued by the Colorado Department of Revenue (except for cards issued to not lawfully present and temporarily lawfully present individuals);
• A valid U.S. passport; 
• A valid employee identification card with a photograph of the voter issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. government or of Colorado, or by any county, municipality, board, authority, or other political subdivision of Colorado; 
• A valid pilot’s license issued by the FAA or other authorized agency of the U.S.; 
• A valid U.S. military identification card with a photograph of the voter;
• A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter.  “Current” means that the date of the document is within 60 days of the date it is submitted for unless the document states a longer billing cycle. 
• A Certificate of Degree of Indian or Alaskan Native Blood. 
• A valid Medicare or Medicaid card issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (formerly the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration); 
• A certified copy of a birth certificate for the voter issued in the U.S.; 
• Certified documentation of naturalization; 
• A valid student identification card with a photograph of the eligible elector issued by an institute of higher education in Colorado;
• A valid veteran identification card issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans’ Health Administration with a photograph of the voter;
• A valid ID card issued by a federally recognized tribal government certifying tribal membership;
• Verification that a voter is a person committed to the Colorado Department of Human Services and is eligible to register and vote; 
• A letter from the director or administrator of a group residential facility indicating that the elector resides at the facility and at the street address listed in the voter registration database; or
• Written correspondence from the county sheriff or their designee to the county clerk indicating that the elector is confined in a county jail or detention facility.

If the identification shows an address, it must show a Colorado address, but it does not have to match the voter’s registration address.   

A voter who is unable to provide a valid form of identification is still entitled to cast a provisional ballot.  However, provisional ballots are only counted upon identity verification, usually done by a state election official. 

A voter can update their registration address by appearing at any VSPC in the voter’s current county of residence up to and on Election Day.  The voter may then vote at the same VSPC where the voter updated their registration.  To find a VSPC or verify its hours, visit: Locate VSPC. A voter can still receive a mail ballot if they update their registration online at Voter Pages (if you have a Colorado driver’s license, ID card, or social security number, click on “Find My Voter Registration,” fill out the form, and then click “Edit” to change the address), or by mail eight days before Election Day (June 20^th is the deadline for the June 28^th primary election).

Voting Military

Service members and their dependents may register and request a ballot using the federal voter registration/ballot request form (“FPCA”). You will have the following identification options when completing the form:

• Your Colorado Driver’s License Number
• U.S. State or Territory or District Issued ID
• Last 4 Digits of your Social Security Number
• Or, state that you do not have the requested ID number/s

Voting Overseas

U.S. citizens living overseas may register and request a ballot using the overseas voter registration/ballot request form. You will have the following identification options when completing the form:

• Your Colorado Driver’s License Number
• U.S. State or Territory or District Issued ID
• Last 4 Digits of your Social Security Number
• Or, state that you do not have the requested ID number/s

Military and other overseas citizens may use the standard procedure for early voting by mail, but there are also special provisions for members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Merchant Marine, commissioned corps of the Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, along with family members of all these groups, and other citizens who reside outside the United States.  These individuals are known as UOCAVA voters.

Registering and Requesting an Absentee Ballot

UOCAVA voters can update voter registration to reflect UOCAVA status through the online portal Registration  and click on the “Change my Address” link. You will then be given the option to update your status as a UOCAVA voter and prompted to indicate whether you would like to receive your ballot by mail, fax, or email.

UOCAVA voters can also submit a Federal Post Card Application (“FPCA”) to the county clerk. The FCPA is available through the Federal Voting Assistance Program (“FVAP”). It serves as a universal form for both voter registration and absentee ballot requests.

Visit FVAP/Colorado, to access the FPCA. A voter can submit the FPCA by mail, email or fax.  To submit by mail, download and complete the FPCA and mail it to an election official.  To submit by email, scan the signed FPCA into a computer.  Be sure to include the Electronic Transmission Sheet.  Email this package directly to an election official. If a voter chooses to fax their FPCA to their election official, they also must include the Electronic Transmission Sheet.  

For more information, visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s (FVAP) Colorado page at FVAP/Colorado.  

Receiving and casting an Absentee Ballot

UOCAVA voters may receive their absentee ballot by mail, email or fax.  They may submit their completed ballots the same way: by mail, email, or fax.  Ballots must be sent by Election Day: for the 2022 primary election it must be sent by June 28^th at 7:00 p.m.  Ballots must be received by the eighth day after Election Day, July 6, 2022.

Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot

The Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) is an emergency back-up ballot that can be used by all UOCAVA voters.  UOCAVA voters use the FWAB to write in their votes when they have not received their early voting ballot in time.  If a UOCAVA voter is not registered, the local election office will treat the information submitted in the FWAB transmission envelope as the voter’s registration application.  The FWAB form is also available at FVAP/Colorado.  FWAB ballots must be sent by Election Day; for the 2022 primary election, it must be sent by June 28^th at 7:00 p.m.  They must be received by the eighth day after Election Day, July 6, 2022 .

In Colorado, it is illegal to register to vote or cast a vote while serving a sentence of detention or confinement for a felony conviction in a correctional facility, jail, or other location (which may include DOC inmate status, living in a community corrections halfway house or on non-residential status). Voters with misdemeanor convictions or those on probation or parole for a felony or misdemeanor conviction are eligible to register to vote and to vote in any election. A voter has the right to vote after having served a sentence of detention or confinement.  If a voter was previously registered, that registration will have been canceled and they must re-register to vote.  An individual currently serving a sentence in jail for a misdemeanor or being held in jail prior to trial on misdemeanor or felony charges CAN register and vote.