Election 2020: How ballots work in Colorado and the impact of COVID-19 on mail-in voting

How do ballots work in Colorado? 

If you’re registered to vote in Colorado, you’ll automatically get a ballot sent to your current address. 

You should have received your 2020 State Ballot Information Booklet in the mail. Soon, you’ll get a TABOR book too. 

Ballots will be mailed out Oct. 9. Military and overseas ballots have already been sent out. 

If you forgot to update your address or haven’t yet registered, you can do so on election day in person. 

“One of the things Colorado is known for is how good our records are, partly because of how much list maintenance we do,” Said Carly Koppes, the Weld County Clerk and Recorder. “We’re connected with the USPS to track address changes. We also work with the Colorado Department of Health and Environment to get a deceased list to verify when people pass away.” 

Even though they do a lot of list maintenance, Koppes said, voters should still do their own due diligence and update their registration if they have a name change, an address change, or want to change their party affiliation. 

“We’re one of the top election states in the nation,” Koppes said. “A lot of people look to us to see how we’re doing things.” 

What impact will COVID-19 have?

While Koppes said she can’t predict what the pandemic might mean for voter turnout, it will change the look and feel of in-person voting. 

“Our workers will have masks, they will have gloves on, and wait times will be higher,” Koppes said. “Utilize your mail in ballots like you have been in Weld County.”

Koppes said it’s also important to note that the much-coveted “I Voted” stickers also come with the mail-in ballot, so you don’t have to vote in person to get one. 

Koppes said she could talk for hours about election misinformation, but at the end of the day, she recommends you reach out to experts if you have questions. 

“Reach out to me, contact me, I’ve made myself pretty available,” Koppes said. 

Have questions? 

You can reach out to Carly Koppes, the Weld County Clerk and Recorder at ckoppes@co.weld.co.us or call her (970) 400-3155.