Colorado 2026 General Election

Vote with confidence.

Everything you need to get ready, return your ballot, track it, and understand what happens before results become final.

Check your voter record ↗Choose how to return
November
03
Tuesday · Election Day

Ballots must be received by 7 p.m.

Election Day · November 3, 2026
Rumor check

What’s true?

Does a new federal process change how I vote?
No. For the 2026 General Election, Colorado voters will receive ballots and have the same return options they have used in prior elections. County clerks will continue sending and receiving election mail while following Colorado law and established procedures.
What was proposed by the federal executive branch?
A presidential executive order called for the U.S. Postal Service to take a greater role in election administration, including new requirements involving ballot envelopes and voter information. Elections are administered primarily by state and local officials under state and federal law. The legality of the executive order and related USPS requirements remains the subject of litigation. Colorado’s 2026 General Election will be conducted under the same state laws and established procedures Colorado voters and election officials have used in prior elections.
What is the best advice for voters?
VOTE! This is a long ballot with many contests and questions, so do not wait until the last minute to research your choices and cast your ballot. Use an official secure drop box to return your mail ballot. It is the most direct way to place your ballot into the custody of election officials. If you are voting your mail ballot after Monday, October 26, do not use the mail. Use an official drop box or take your ballot to a voter service and polling center instead. Ballots must be received by your county clerk no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day. A postmark does not count.
Mark your calendar

Five dates to know

Colorado’s election unfolds over several weeks. You do not need to wait until Election Day to vote.

SEPT. 19
Military and overseas ballots

Must be transmitted no later than this date.

Upcoming
OCT. 2
Ballots begin mailing

Counties may begin sending ballots to active registered voters.

Upcoming
OCT. 19
Voting centers open

The minimum required voter service and polling centers begin opening.

Upcoming
NOV. 3
Election Day

Voting ends and ballots are due to your county clerk by 7 p.m.

Upcoming
NOV. 12
Cure deadline

For a mail ballot with a missing or mismatched signature, or missing required ID, your county clerk must receive the cure by 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time. Follow the instructions in your county’s notice.

Resolve a ballot issue ↗

Also: military and overseas mailed ballots. This is the last day for counties to receive eligible UOCAVA ballots by close of business, provided they were sent by 7 p.m. Mountain Time on Election Day, Nov. 3. Electronic returns must be received by 7 p.m. Mountain Time on Nov. 3.

Military and overseas voting guidance ↗
Upcoming
Four steps to take now

Be ballot ready

Research your ballot

This is a long ballot. Review your sample ballot, the statewide Blue Book, and local ballot information before you begin voting.

Open the Colorado Blue Book ↗

Know your local options

Find official drop boxes, voter service centers, hours, sample ballots, and local election information.

Find your county clerk ↗
Return your ballot

Easy, secure, and on your schedule

CCCA recommends returning your mail ballot through an official secure drop box. You may use any official ballot drop box in Colorado, as long as your ballot is deposited before 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Use a secure ballot drop box

More than 75% of Coloradans who cast a ballot return it through a 24-hour ballot drop box. CCCA recommends official drop boxes as the safest, most secure, and most direct way to return a mail ballot.

  • Use any official ballot drop box in Colorado
  • Many are available 24 hours a day
  • Ballots are collected by bipartisan teams
  • Official locations are published by county clerks
Find a drop box ↗
Return or vote in person

Bring your completed mail ballot to a voter service and polling center in your county, or visit a voting center to vote in person.

You may use any voter service and polling center in your county. You are not limited to one assigned polling place. At a voting center, you can register or update your registration, receive a replacement ballot, vote in person, or receive accessible voting assistance. Locations and hours vary, so check before you go.

Find a voting center ↗
If you choose to return it by mail

CCCA recommends using an official secure drop box. If you choose the mail, send your ballot early and allow enough time for delivery.

Do not use the mail after Monday, October 26. Use an official ballot drop box or voter service and polling center instead. Your ballot must be received, not merely postmarked, by the deadline.

Most ballots must reach the county clerk by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Eligible military and overseas mailed ballots have the separate receipt deadline shown above.

When are you planning to return your ballot?

Use an official secure drop box for the safest, most secure, and most direct return of your ballot.
Ballot transparency

Follow your ballot from your mailbox to the count

Every returned mail ballot moves through documented checks designed to protect the ballot, confirm the voter, preserve voter privacy, and produce an accurate count. On a phone, swipe through each step.

Ballot prepared and mailed

Your county prepares the correct ballot packet for you and mails it to the address in your voter record.

You vote and sign

You mark your ballot, place it in the return envelope, and sign the voter affidavit on the envelope.

Securely returned

You place the signed return envelope in an official drop box, transferring it directly into the custody of election officials.

See how drop boxes are secured →

Bipartisan collection

Sworn bipartisan teams collect ballots from drop boxes and document the chain of custody as ballots are transported to the county’s secure processing facility.

Verify the custody safeguards →

Received and recorded

The return envelope is date-stamped and checked into the statewide voter system. Your voter record receives voting credit, which shows only that you returned a ballot, never how you voted.

Signature verified

Trained election judges compare the signature on your envelope with signatures in your voter record.

Accepted: the ballot moves forward.Issue found: the voter is notified and given an opportunity to cure it.

How signature verification is checked →

Ballot made anonymous

Once accepted, bipartisan teams open the envelope and separate the ballot from identifying information. From this point forward, the ballot is anonymous.

See the privacy and processing controls →

Tabulated and secured

The ballot is scanned and its votes are tabulated. The paper ballot is securely retained as the official record for reconciliation, auditing, and any recount required by law.

See how counting is protected →

GO DEEPER · SECURITYWant the evidence behind every step? Explore all ten layers of election defense →
Need help?

There is a solution.

Do not let a missing ballot, registration question, signature issue, disability, or language need keep you from voting.

My ballot did not arrive, or it was lost or damaged

Visit a voter service and polling center in your county to receive a replacement ballot or vote in person. Contact your county clerk if you need help before visiting.

Find a voting center ↗
I am not registered or need to update my registration

Colorado voters may register through Election Day. If you miss the deadline to receive a ballot by mail, register or update your record in person at a voter service and polling center in your county.

Check or update your record ↗
I received a signature or identification notice

Follow the instructions from your county clerk promptly. You have through Thursday, Nov. 12, to resolve a qualifying signature or identification issue so your ballot can be counted.

Open Colorado’s secure cure portal ↗
I need accessible voting or language assistance

Every voter service and polling center offers an accessible voting system. Eligible voters with disabilities may also use Colorado’s electronic ballot access system. Your county clerk can provide information about available language assistance.

Open the accessible ballot system ↗
Election Night and after

Results take time because verification matters

Election-night reporting is a progress report, not the final certified outcome. Open each stage to see what happens next.

01 · REPORT

Unofficial results

Counties begin publishing unofficial results after 7 p.m. on Election Night. Expect multiple updates later that evening and additional updates in the days that follow as more verified ballots are processed.

02 · REVIEW

Election Day ballots take time

Hundreds of thousands of ballots may be cast or returned on Election Day. Election officials must complete eligibility checks and process those ballots before they can be counted. Voters have through Thursday, Nov. 12, to cure qualifying signature or identification issues. Counties must also finish verifying and counting provisional ballots by Thursday, Nov. 12.

03 · VERIFY

Audit and reconcile

Counties account for ballots and conduct required post-election audits using the paper record.

04 · CERTIFY

Results become official

Bipartisan canvass boards review election records before certification.

If a contest is close, it may take up to 10 days after Election Day for counties to finish tabulating all accepted ballots. Doing this work accurately takes time. The process is transparent and may be observed by authorized watchers appointed by political parties, candidates, and issue committees.

Ready to vote?

Check your record, research your choices, and make a plan to return your ballot through an official secure drop box.

Find a drop box ↗Contact your county clerk ↗
Official sources and additional information