With just over a week to go until ballots are due, the Office of the Clerk and Recorder has begun to release the tally of returned ballots. So far, 25,311 have been submitted since March 13, about 11,500 fewer than in 2019, nine days before the election.
This represents just over 5.5% of the 453,143 active, registered voters in Denver. Nine days before the 2019 election the city clerk collected almost 37,000 ballots, which was 9% of registered, active voters in Denver.
The 2023 municipal election is unique compared to 2019, however. This is the first time Denverites cannot vote for an incumbent mayor in 12 years, as Michael B. Hancock is term limited. There are 16 mayoral candidates on the ballot, compared to just six in 2019.
Current return data shows a majority of ballots — 12,009 — were returned by voters 65 and older. This was followed by voters aged 55-64, who returned 4,016 ballots, and those aged 35-44, returning 3,042 ballots. Young voters, like those aged 24 and younger, returned 616 ballots. Those aged 25-34 returned 2,689 and 45-54-year-olds returned 2,939 so far.
A majority of ballots submitted by mail, about 25,000, were accepted. However, 186 were rejected.
If you are concerned or curious about the status of your ballot, sign up to track it at https://denver.ballottrax.net/voter/.
If a ballot is rejected, the Clerk's Office will send the voter a signature affidavit form. This must be sent back to the clerk no later than eight days after election day with a copy of acceptable identification included. More information can be found at the Denver Elections Division security page.
The stats on young voters are not surprising to Nicole Hensel, the executive director of New Era Colorado, a non-partisan, nonprofit organization that helps young people make sense of often complicated political races.
"We have learned in our 17-year career of working with young people, that they tend to vote in person and on Election Day," she said. "While there's lower turnout amongst all age groups for local and municipal races, young people's turnout rates tend to really increase in those final four days before the election."
So far, only 33 ballots have been filled out in person, according to the Denver Elections Division.
New Era Colorado was founded in 2006 and since then has registered hundreds of thousands of new voters, according to Hensel's estimate. The organization has a webpage that informs voters on why each race matters and how to properly fill out and drop off a ballot.
For young, first time voters, Hensel said it can be easy to get overwhelmed, especially with 16 mayoral candidates on the official ballot, and many others vying for council seats and other municipal offices. She added many young voters don't fully understand offices like the clerk or auditor.
"Democracy is complicated and it takes practice," she said.
