35,000 voters return ballots

More than 35,000 ballots for the 2017 election have been returned from across Colorado as of Monday, as officials urge voters who are mailing their ballots to do so before the middle of next week to ensure they are counted.

Ballots for the Nov. 7 election went out last week in all but six of the state’s 64 counties. Those counties not participating in the fall election have no contested races or local ballot measures.

Of the ballots turned in so far, 11,633 came from registered Democrats and 14,913 from registered Republicans. Unaffiliated voters turned in 9,383 ballots.

Voters age 71 and older turned in the most ballots of any age bracket — with 12,431. Voters ages 18 to 25 were at the bottom of the pack, having turned in just 799 ballots as of Monday, according to the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.

There are more than 3.7 million registered voters in the state, but turnout for offyear elections is typically much lower than, say, during a presidential election year.

In Denver, about one-third of all ballots are turned in on Election Day itself.

As of Monday morning, 1,869 ballots had been returned in Denver. The city has a host of issues before voters, including a $937 million bond package, school board races and an initiative that would mandate that the roofs of large new buildings incorporate rooftop gardens or solar panels.

In Douglas County, which has a hotly contested school board race, 3,049 ballots were returned as of the start of this week.

The U.S. Postal Service encourages voters who are mailing in their ballots to do so at least a week before the Nov. 7 Election Day — so that means Oct. 31 — to ensure their ballots are counted. Postmarks don’t count, as ballots must be in the possession of county clerks by 7 p.m. on Election Day.