June 25, 2024 11:47 AM UTC

Ballot Return Numbers Entering Primary Election Day

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• by: Colorado Pols

The Primary Election is here at last!

If you still have a ballot at home, remember that you must return it to a ballot drop box before 7:00 pm. Go to GoVoteColorado.com for more information on where to find a drop off location or how to vote in person if you would prefer (or if you lost your ballot).

Now, here’s what ballot return numbers look like as of 11:59 pm on Monday: A total of 714,931 ballots have been cast out of a total active voter population of 3,870,904.

714,931
Ballots Returned STATEWIDE

3,870,904
Active Eligible Voters

18%
Voter Turnout

As you can see from this chart provided by the Colorado Secretary of State’s office, voter turnout for the 2024 Primary Election is well behind the last two Primary elections in Colorado:

It makes sense that turnout would be lagging in 2024 compared to 2022 and 2020 for two reasons: 1) There is no big statewide race this year, and 2) Only Republicans have contested Primary battles in top races. Yet despite the fact that Democrats don’t have a top-tier race to watch tonight, it is Democrats who are turning out to vote in larger numbers:

In the most widely-watched race — the six-way Primary in CO-04 — turnout is a little better:

125,727
Ballots Returned in CO-04

538,944
Active Eligible Voters

23%
Voter Turnout

What do these numbers tell us about who might come out ahead in various contests tonight? Not a whole lot, really. Turnout is lower than it has been in previous years, but not by significant margins given the lack of a top-tier statewide race.

The biggest takeaway that we can surmise is that Republicans should be nervous about what these numbers portend for November. Republicans SHOULD be voting in higher numbers than Democrats given that they have the most interesting Primary battles of 2024.