2026 election guide: Colorado’s candidates, measures, how to vote

September 29, 2026 admin 6 Views 0 Comments

In this guide

It’s a big election year in Colorado with control of Congress and the governor’s office, as well as 14 statewide initiatives, among the many things at stake on the ballot.

The Colorado Sun is here to make sure you know how to cast your vote and provide you with information on the candidates and ballot measures to help you fill out your ballot.

How The Colorado Sun is covering the election

We’re sharing our coverage philosophy with you, our readers, to be transparent about our guiding principles.

The Sun is a small newsroom, so we think hard about how to best use our limited resources. Thus, we are focusing our election coverage on races that are competitive and have an impact on the trajectory of the state and nation.

In the races we are tracking most closely, we’ll provide comparisons of where candidates stand on the issues that voters tell us they care about. We’ll also examine the records of officeholders and candidates.

We’re also covering all of the 14 statewide ballot measures this year, as well as the measure asking voters who live in cities in the Front Range Passenger Rail District to increase their sales tax rate to pay for passenger train service.

Michael Ferrufino, president and CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Denver, speaks at a launch rally Sept. 10 for the Yes on 7A campaign supporting Ballot Measure 7A at Union Station in Denver. The campaign supports funding for the Colorado Connector, a proposed regional passenger rail service connecting communities along the Front Range. (Cheney Orr, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)

One thing you’ll find a lot of in The Sun’s election coverage is stories about money in politics.

Campaigns that raise the most money — or that benefit the most from spending by political groups — don’t always win, but cash does play a significant role in elections. So The Sun is keeping a close eye on how much candidates and issue groups raise, where it’s coming from and how they spend it.

When Election Day arrives, you can expect The Sun to be working nonstop to bring you coverage of what’s happening on the ground. Results start being shared by county clerks at 7 p.m. Nov. 3, and they’ll be available at coloradosun.com.

U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, left, and state Rep. Manny Rutinel, right. Evans and Rutinel are running against each other in the 8th Congressional District, one of the nation’s most competitive U.S. House races. The Colorado Sun has been closely covering the contest. (Photos by Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)

We won’t post full stories about races until we know whether a contest is going to be called by The Associated Press in one candidate’s direction or another — or if a contest will be too close to call on election night.

Early results are just that. We don’t want to mislead you as to which way a contest is going.

You’ll still be able to track races on our site, just like you were able to during the primary. Our results page often updates faster than the official one you can find through the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office thanks to the speed of our partners at The Associated Press.

How to vote

If you’re an active, registered voter in Colorado, you’ll receive a ballot in the mail ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

County clerks may begin mailing ballots to voters Oct. 2, and they’ll start arriving in mailboxes in the days after.

Check your voter registration at govotecolorado.gov by entering your name, ZIP code and date of birth. You may also register to vote or change your address at govotecolorado.gov.

If your registration says “inactive,” that’s because your ballot was returned as undeliverable in a past election. You may update your registration online or by submitting a written request to your county’s clerk.

There is no deadline to register to vote to be able to cast a ballot in Colorado’s election. As long as you are registered before polls close on Nov. 3, you can cast a ballot.

Electronic voting machines are ready for primary election voters at the Belmar Library in Lakewood on June 29. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)

To register to vote in Colorado, people must provide their Colorado driver’s license number, the last four digits of their Social Security number or present another valid form of identification. If the form of ID doesn’t confirm someone’s citizenship, they can affirm under the penalty of perjury that they are a U.S. citizen.

To receive a ballot in the mail, you must be registered by Oct. 26.

But it’s important to note that the state recommends that all mail-in ballots no longer be mailed back after Oct. 26 to ensure that your ballot arrives on time. By Oct 27, the state recommends that you should return your ballot to a drop box or an in-person voting center. (Find drop boxes and voting centers here.)

Once you’ve filled out your ballot, sealed it in the return envelope and signed and dated the envelope, mail it (with postage affixed) or take it to one of your county’s drop boxes or an in-person voting center. (Many voters drop their ballots off.)

Coloradans can register after Oct. 26, but they will be required to vote in person or pick up a ballot at an in-person voting center and return it before polls close. Same-day registration and voting will be available at voter service and polling centers until polls close at 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Your ballot must be received by 7 p.m. Nov. 3. If you have not mailed back your ballot by Oct. 26, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office says you should return it in person at a drop box or an in-person voting center.

You may sign up to use BallotTrax, the state’s ballot tracking system, and you’ll receive an email, text or both when your ballot is accepted.

A voter fills out his ballot at the Belmar Library in Lakewood on June 29. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)

If you want to vote in person, hundreds of voting centers across the state will open on or after Oct. 19. Contact your county clerk for nearby locations and hours where you may vote in person.

If you vote in person, you must present identification such as a driver’s license, U.S. passport or other identification on this list. If you are voting by mail for the first time, you may also need to include a copy of your ID with your mail ballot.

If your ID is required, your county clerk will include instructions with your mail ballot.

Colorado Sun issue guides

The links below will be updated as the guides are published. The Sun is only doing issue guides for races we consider the most impactful because of our newsroom’s resource constraints. (Becoming a Colorado Sun member helps expand our coverage capabilities.)