Colorado Voters Face 14 Measures and Tight 7 PM Deadline

The Arapahoe County Elections Facility in Littleton was busy on Oct. 14, 2026. Workers were sorting ballots for the general election that arrives Tuesday. That’s a lot of paper moving through one building before the public even gets to touch it.

Colorado is voting on a massive slate of issues today. We’re deciding the governor’s office, three U.S. Senate seats, eight House districts, and dozens of state legislature positions. On top of that, voters are weighing in on 14 statewide ballot measures. There is also a specific Front Range sales tax measure that could determine the future of passenger rail in the region.

If you haven’t voted yet, there is a window to do so, but it has a hard stop. Voting ends at 7 p.m. Tuesday. If you are mailing your ballot back to your county clerk, it is too late. The mail network won’t make the cutoff. You must turn in your ballot at a drop box or an in-person voting center if you want it counted.

In-person centers open at 7 a.m. and stay open until 7 p.m. One detail matters here: if you’re in line at 7 p.m., they keep the doors open until you finish. You don’t lose your spot because of a clock.

You can also vote in person if you lost or damaged your mail-in ballot. Or, if that is just your preference. Colorado allows same-day voter registration, so you can register and cast a ballot up until polls close. You do not need to have been on the rolls for weeks.

Do you need ID? If voting in person, yes. You must present identification, such as a driver’s license or U.S. passport. The state maintains a list of acceptable forms. If you recently registered and are returning the ballot you received in the mail, you may need to affix proof of your identity. A notice from your county’s clerk will accompany the ballot if that is necessary. Otherwise, no ID is required to vote in Colorado.

For context, the state offers a tracking system called BallotTrax. You can sign up to track your ballot and receive an email or text when it is accepted. It’s the only way to know for sure your vote made it into the count without standing in line.

The races are competitive and consequential. The Colorado Sun interviewed candidates running for the most high-stakes positions. In the U.S. Senate race, they spoke with John Hickenlooper and Mark Baisley about where they stand on the issues. For governor, they covered Phil Weiser and Victor Marx. They also interviewed Michael Allen and Jena Griswold in the attorney general’s race.

Let’s do the math on what this costs you today: one hour of your time, perhaps a trip to a drop box, and the chance that your vote goes into a pile in Littleton. The practical impact is immediate. The winner of the governor’s race sets policy for every town on the Western Slope, from water rights to infrastructure spending. The Front Range rail measure is a revenue question that will ripple out, even if the tracks don’t reach your doorstep.

Voting ends at 7 p.m. Tuesday. If you are in line, your ballot counts. If not, the window closes. The results will follow, but the decision is made in that eight-hour block between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.