Colorado voters will start receiving their ballots for the 2024 General Election on October 11, and there is a lot at stake this year.
Apart from the big-ticket presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, also on the ballot are battleground Congressional races that could decide the balance of power in Washington, more than a dozen statewide ballot questions and scores of State House and Senate seats.
Making sense of all that information is no easy task, but KUNC News has put together all the important state and local election information below.
We also want to hear your thoughts on the voting process.We are surveying Coloradans about their questions and concerns around the elections. Take a moment to fill out this quick survey.
Important election dates and deadlines
October 11 to October 18: Ballots are mailed to voters
October 24: Polling places, voter centers and ballot drop boxes open
October 28: Ballots returned by mail should be postmarked at least a week before election day. After October 28, they should be returned using an official dropbox. It is also the last day to register to vote and still receive a ballot in the mail
November 5: Election day. All ballots must be placed in a dropbox or submitted at a polling place by the time polls close at 7:00 p.m.
Full 2024 Election Calendar: https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/calendars/2024ElectionCalendar.pdf
Voting resources
- Voter registration
- Wondering if you’re already registered to vote?
- Tracking your ballot: Colorado voters can receive tracking notifications of their ballot’s progress through a service called Ballottrax. Sign up at https://ballottrax.coloradosos.gov/voter/
- Election FAQ’s from the Secretary of State
- FAQ’s specific to mail-in ballots
- Information for military and overseas voters: https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/elections/UOCAVA.html
- Fighting election disinformation: https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/ElectionIntegrity/index.html
- Sample Ballot
- Ballot Information Booklet (Blue Book): https://leg.colorado.gov/content/initiatives/initiatives-blue-book-overview/ballot-information-booklet-blue-book
- Secretary of State’s Elections Homepage with even more resources: https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/
- Secretary of State hub for county clerk information: https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/elections/Resources/CountyElectionOffices.html
Statewide ballot measures
There are 14 statewide measures on the ballot this year. They deal with a range of big issues for Coloradans including abortion, same-sex marriage, election reform and big cat hunting. KUNC summarized each of them, and what they would do, below.
Congressional races
1st Congressional District: A heavily Democratic district that encompasses Denver. Incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Diana DeGette is running against Republican challenger Valdamar Archuleta.
2nd Congressional District: The Larimer and Boulder County-based district northeast of Denver stretches north and west to Vail, Steamboat Springs and the Wyoming border. Third-term Incumbent Democratic Congressman Joe Neguse is running against Republican challenger Marshall Dawson.
3rd Congressional District: A closely-watched battleground race that could impact the balance of power in Congress. The vast Republican-leaning district, the state’s largest geographically, covers most of the Western Slope and stretches east to include Pueblo. Republican Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction attorney, is running against Democrat Adam Frisch, a former Aspen city council member. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert currently represents the 3rd District but is running for reelection in a different district after barely winning reelection against Frisch in 2022 by less than 600 votes.
4th Congressional District: The state’s most heavily Republican district that covers much of Colorado’s northeastern plains and includes Douglas County and parts of Larimer and Weld Counties. Former GOP Congressman Ken Buck represented the district for five terms before resigning in March. Republican two-term Congresswoman Lauren Boebert is running against Democrat Trisha Calvarese. Boebert decided to run for reelection in the 4th District instead of her current 3rd District, which is not as reliably Republican.
5th Congressional District: A Republican-leaning district encompassing Colorado Springs and El Paso County. GOP Congressman Doug Lamborn currently represents the district but is retiring after nine terms. Republican Jeff Crank, a former radio host, is running for the seat against Democrat River Gassen, a University of Colorado science professor and former NASA researcher.
6th Congressional District: The suburban, Aurora-based district has leaned more Democratic in recent years after it was once considered reliably Republican. Three-term Incumbent Democratic Congressman Jason Crow is running for reelection against Republican John Fabbricatore, an Air Force veteran and former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement officer.
7th Congressional District: A Democratic-leaning district that runs along the foothills from Jefferson County south to Custer County and west to Chaffee County. Incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Brittany Petterson is running for her second term against business owner and Polish immigrant Sergei Matvayuk.
8th Congressional District: Probably the most closely-watched battleground race in Colorado and another that could decide the balance of power in Congress. Also the state’s newest Congressional district, created in 2022 after the most recent US Census. National interests on both sides of the aisle have poured money into the race. The district covers parts of Adams, Weld and Larimer Counties, running from the northern Denver Metro area up to Greeley. It also has a larger share of Latino voters than any other district. First-term incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo, a pediatrician and former state lawmaker, is running for reelection against Republican Gabe Evans, a current state lawmaker, veteran and former police officer. Caraveo won by a narrow margin two years ago.
State House and Senate
All 65 State House seats are up for election this year, with candidates in a few districts running unopposed. 18 out of 35 State Senate seats up for election.
Find your State House and Senate district here: https://leg.colorado.gov/FindMyLegislator
Senate districts on the ballot:
- District 2
- District 5
- District 6
- District 10
- District 12
- District 13
- District 14
- District 16
- District 17
- District 18
- District 19
- District 21
- District 23
- District 26
- District 28
- District 29
- District 31
- District 33
JUDGES: This year’s ballot includes Colorado Supreme Court Justices, Colorado Court of Appeals judges, and local judges. For information on them, refer to the ballot information booklet, or “blue book. Evaluations for each judge put together by state and local Commissions on Judicial Performance, start on page 95.
