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The easiest way to register is online at www.GoVoteColorado.com. However, you may also register to vote by mail, or in person at the Denver Elections Division, (200 W. 14th Ave., Denver), or at any number of other agencies including Denver Motor Vehicle offices and offices of the Denver Department of Human Services.
See more information on the Voter Registration page. If you choose not to register online, you may download a voter registration form on the Voter Forms page. Be sure to fill out the voter registration form completely and sign it before submitting it.
The easiest way to change your registration is to do it online at www.GoVoteColorado.com. However, you may also update your registration by mail, or in person at the Denver Elections Division, (200 W. 14th Ave., Denver), or at any number of other agencies including Denver Motor Vehicle offices and offices of the Denver Department of Human Services.
If you choose not to do this online, download the standard voter registration form on the Voter Forms page and make your changes on this form.
Check your registration status at www.GoVoteColorado.com. If you are classified as "inactive," the result returned will state that your voter registration information may not be current, and that you should contact your county voter registration office to re-activate your voter status.
While looking at your registration record online, notice whether your address is correct. If it is outdated, update your address while on that website. Doing so will re-activate your voter status. You can also re-activate your voter status without making any changes to your registration record.
No. By law, you must be a resident in your Denver precinct 30 days prior to an election. You may register up to 29 days prior to an election as well. Any registrations submitted after that deadline will be treated as deferred until the end of Election Day.
There is, however, a provision for emergency registration under some narrow circumstances. If you use this provision on Election Day, you will be given a provisional ballot.
Those convicted of misdemeanors do not lose their right to vote. Those convicted of felonies regain their right to vote once incarceration and any parole have been completed. See Voting and Convictions FAQs on the Colorado Secretary of State website.
See also the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition Voting Project.
No. If you miss voting in any General Election, we will mail you a card stating that you did not vote in that election. By signing and returning the card, you are verifying that you have not changed your address or name and your voter registration will be returned to "active" status.
Most likely, you missed voting in the last General Election and did not return the card the Elections Division subsequently sent to you, or the card was returned to the division as "undeliverable" by the Post Office.
If you have moved, notify the Elections Division that your current registration information has changed and you still wish to remain registered. By updating your registration information or by voting in the next election, your status will become "active" again.
You may update your address online at www.GoVoteColorado.com. If you choose not to do this online, download the standard voter registration form on the Voter Forms page and make your changes on this form.
The Election Division has only limited authority under state and federal laws to cancel voter registrations. There are specific, restricted situations in which the division is authorized to delete names. Visit the registration cancellations page for detailed information.
For all-mail ballot elections, there is no need for voters to apply for a mail ballot. Ballots will be mailed to voters. If, however, you have moved since the last election, you will need to update your voter status in order to receive a ballot. Mailed ballots are not forwardable. If your voter status is "inactive" you may need to re-activate it in order to be mailed a ballot. Check your voter status here: www.GoVoteColorado.com.
For polling place elections, you must be on the mail ballot list to receive a mail ballot. You may apply to receive a mail ballot for a particular election, or for all elections. You may apply online using the link above, or download a mail ballot application on the Voter Forms page. If you are on the mail ballot list and do not vote in an election, your name will be removed from the mail ballot list. To find out if you are on the mail ballot list, use the link in the paragraph above.
No. What was traditionally called absentee voting is now referred to as voting by mail, and any registered voter may apply to be on the mail ballot list. This law was changed in 2007.
You do not have to request a mail ballot if you are already on the mail ballot list. However, Denver has conducted a number of mail-only elections in the last few years, and that has caused some voters to mistakenly assume that they will receive a mail ballot for every election.
To find out if you are on the mail ballot list, go to www.GoVoteColorado.com. If you are not on the list, you may request a mail ballot on that site.
Only once, if you choose the permanent mail ballot option. State law gives you the opportunity to choose to vote by mail for the upcoming election only, or to be placed on the Permanent Mail-In Voter list. You may remove your name from the mail ballot list at any time in the future.
Note: Your name will be removed from the Permanent Mail-In Voter list if you fail to vote in a November General Election.
Visit www.GoVoteColorado.com to check your mail ballot status and to opt into or out of the mail ballot list.
Visit www.GoVoteColorado.com to check your mail ballot status and to opt into the mail ballot list. You will have the opportunity to choose to receive a mail ballot just for a specific election.
The Primary Election in 2012 is an all-mail ballot election. Everyone who is eligible to vote, and who has an updated address on file with the Denver Elections Division, is mailed a ballot.
The General Election is a polling place election. In order to receive a ballot by mail for the General, voters need to be on the Permanent Mail-In Voter list, or request a mail ballot just for this election.
There are a number of reasons why you might not receive a ballot by mail for the General:
To find out if you are on the mail ballot list, go to www.GoVoteColorado.com. You may also use this site to sign up for mail ballots and to update your address.
If you choose to do this, you will be given a provisional ballot because you will be on record as having received a mail ballot.
Yes! Mail ballots may be dropped off at any Denver polling place on Election Day, or they may be dropped off at the Denver Elections Division, 200 W. 14th Avenue, Denver. Election Day drop off location hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
No. The first ballot to be returned to the Denver Elections Division will be credited to the voter to whom it was issued. If any additional ballot should come back for that voter, it will be locked out and rejected by the system.
Visit our Voter Information page for details about the current election. The current election page provides information on how to vote and additional options.
Early voting gives voters the opportunity to vote prior to Election Day. The Denver Elections Division offers early voting to make voting easy and convenient for all Denver residents, including those who may have difficulty getting to the polls on Election Day.
For a week or two before Election Day, voters can vote early at any one of the voter service centers located throughout the city. Find out times, locations, and other details about the current election on the Voter Information page.
Specific information about the current election can be accessed from the Voter Information page. Traditionally, polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on Election Day. If you are standing in line at 7 p.m. you will be allowed to vote.
Polling places may change for any number of reasons, including disabled accessibility considerations, safety and security reasons, or a decision by a property owner to not participate any longer. Schools, which have been long-time participants as polling locations, are more often choosing to decline because of increased security considerations for students.
Yes. By law, voters must be given time to vote without loss of pay if they do not have sufficient time to vote outside of regular working hours.
Federal law requires that every voting site be accessible to all voters. In choosing and preparing polling places, the Denver Elections Division makes every effort to ensure that this is the case, including the installation of temporary ramps and the designation of ample parking places for people with disabilities. Despite these preparations, if you should find a location inaccessible to you, please call 311 for immediate assistance.
An additional choice that is open to everyone is to send in a Mail-In Ballot Application (find one on the Voter Forms page). This is a convenient way to vote.
Most likely. Campaign staff members frequently provide volunteer transportation for voters to and from the polls on Election Day. Volunteers from the Democratic and Republican parties typically provide this service to voters as well. Call ahead to make arrangements with your party headquarters.
Denver Democratic Party, 303-830-8242 Denver Republican Party, 303-782-9555
Yes. There is no Election Day restriction upon the sale of alcoholic beverages by those lawfully licensed to do so. However, no alcohol is permitted at polling places.
The Federal Help America Vote Act mandates that no voter be turned away without the ability to cast a ballot. Whenever a voter’s registration, identification or residency is in question, the voter is given a ballot nevertheless. This voted and sealed ballot is then marked "provisional" and segregated from other ballots. After Election Day, the voter registrations of provisional ballots are researched. If a registration is deemed valid, the ballot is counted. If deemed invalid, the ballot is not counted.
Election officials have 14 days after the General Election to research the validity of all provisional ballots and submit that information to the Colorado Secretary of State. The election judge will give you a receipt when you cast a provisional ballot. This receipt provides information on how you may determine the status of your provisional ballot. Additional information on provisional ballots can be found on the Colorado Secretary of State's website.
Electioneering is not permitted within 100 feet of any polling place. This includes handouts, yard signs, banners, campaign T-shirts, political buttons, and any other item that names or promotes your cause. Any person in violation of this provision commits a misdemeanor.
Campaign workers should understand that polling places are hosted at a wide variety of public and private properties. Electioneering beyond the 100-foot mark at any given polling place is subject to the rules of the particular property owner. Property rights should be respected.
Many polling places are on private property. Also, the area at the 100-foot limit (where campaigning may legally take place) could be private property. Campaigners need to get the permission of the affected property owner before using the property for a campaign sign or for handing out campaign literature. Campaigners should understand that property owners have the right to withhold this permission.
Electioneering is not permitted within 100 feet of any polling place. This includes hats, T-shirts, buttons or any other item that promotes a candidate or cause on the ballot. Any person in violation of this provision commits a misdemeanor.
Voters will be allowed into the polling place only after removing campaign hats or buttons, or changing a campaign T-shirt, or covering it with a jacket or sweater.
It depends. If you are registered as unaffiliated, you may change your affiliation to Democrat or Republican in order to vote in that party's primary. If you are affiliated with one party, you may not change your affiliation on Election Day in order to vote in the other party's primary.
Yes. An unaffiliated voter who has already requested a mail-in ballot may affiliate with a particular party during early voting or on Primary Election Day. You may bring your unvoted ballot to the Denver Elections Division, 200 W. 14th Ave. (corner of 14th and Bannock), to turn it in. You will then fill out a declaration of party affiliation and be issued a new ballot.
If you attempt to turn in your unvoted ballot for this purpose, at an early voting site or at a precinct polling place, you will be issued a provisional ballot only.
Parties hold presidential caucuses that decide on delegates to the party's national convention. Only the participants of the caucuses have a say in Colorado's presidential nomination process. The Primary Election held in June allows party-affiliated voters to vote for their party's state and federal office nominees, but does not include the presidential race on the ballot.
For more information, visit www.denverdems.org, or www.denvergop.org or call your county party (Democratic Party: 303-830-8242; Republican Party: 303-782-9555).
Caucuses are neighborhood meetings held by Colorado's major political parties every two years in early spring, prior to the presidential or gubernatorial elections. People in the same political party begin their party’s nominating and delegate selection process at neighborhood caucus. Caucuses are not connected or associated with the Denver Elections Division.
For more information about caucuses, visit www.denverdems.org, or www.denvergop.org or call your county party (Democratic Party: 303-830-8242; Republican Party: 303-782-9555).
Check your voter registration status GoVoteColorado.com