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KUNC's guide to Election 2012 in Colorado and the Colorado vote. Additional guides include a detailed look at Amendment 64, Amendment 65, and a look at Amendment S. You can find our archive of national election coverage here.

Early Voting Begins In Colorado Monday

Early voting locations open across the state Monday giving Coloradans the opportunity to cast their ballots ahead of Election Day, Nov. 6.

KUNC’s state capitol reporter Bente Birkeland has more on the trend of early voting [audio above].

President Barack Obama and Republican Challenger Mitt Romney will be at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida for the last debate of this election cycle. Both candidates will then be returning to Colorado this week for campaign events.

  • President Obama will be at the Meadow at City Park in Denver Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 24.
  • GOP Candidates Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will be at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre Tuesday evening, Oct. 23.

Colorado State University Political Science Professor John Straayer says this is likely to be one of their last opportunities to sway Coloradans before many cast their votes.

“You know every day that this moves on there are more and more ballots that have already been cast. They are in the vault and it kind of makes you wonder what the value of the advertising is going to be as you move along.  If it’s going to be a tight election, the quest for those few remaining undecided is important, but I think the number of available votes is shrinking by the day.”

Early voting locations will be open through the Friday before Election Day. Voting by mail began last week. Coloradans have until Tuesday, Oct. 30 to request a mail-in ballot [.pdf].

Registered Colorado Republicans have so far cast 2,000 more ballots than registered Democrats since voting by mail began in the state. 

The Secretary of State's office reports so far 25,377 people have cast mail-in ballots. Of those, 10,884 are Republicans, and 8,516 are Democrats. Another 5,727 are unaffiliated voters. 

Nearly 80 percent of Coloradans voted prior to Election Day in 2008.

In 2008:

  • 1,527,228 Colorado residents voted by mail
  • 365,236 Colorado residents participated in early voting
My journalism career started in college when I worked as a reporter and Weekend Edition host for WEKU-FM, an NPR member station in Richmond, KY. I graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a B.A. in broadcast journalism.
Bente Birkeland has been reporting on state legislative issues for KUNC and Rocky Mountain Community Radio since 2006. Originally, from Minnesota, Bente likes to hike and ski in her spare time. She keeps track of state politics throughout the year but is especially busy during the annual legislative session from January through early May.
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