EL PASO COUNTY — The El Paso County Clerk's Office is advising voters who want to fill out their ballot in person to prepare in advance so they don't tie up voting booths for too long. This year's ballot has dozens of choices and fills both sides of an oversized page.
Ballots are coming in at a steady pace. Voters say dropping off is the quick part — filling out the ballot takes some time.
"It's important every year. I think everybody should take it seriously and vote every time," Matt Miller said after dropping off his ballot.
This year's Colorado ballot asks for opinions on dozens of questions, including governor, senator, congressman, judges, more than a dozen statewide ballot measures, and then county and school district measures.
"The longest part is going through the booklet and just really making sure I understand the wording because sometimes that can be a little tricky," voter Sara Griffen said.
"I've had friends. Call me and ask, and they're 30 minutes in and still struggling to understand because of ballot language, what something's actually going to do," said Mary Elizabeth Fabian-Redding, who researched the ballot for hours.
"It was a very long ballot. Um, I've been following it a lot though, so I kind of knew what was going on," Miller said.
Voters who have filled out the ballot say the best-case scenario is 10 minutes for someone who has already done their research, with 20 to 30 minutes a more likely average.
For those who don't fully know what's on the ballot, Griffen shared the advice she gave her own daughter.
"I said you definitely need to look through things and see how you feel, but then, you know, make sure you take something in with you so that you know in advance how you're going to vote and then it should go smooth," Griffen said.
For these voters, casting a ballot is both a civic duty and a point of pride.
"It's the one tool that I have that I know I can. You know, put my effort into it and And hopefully we're heard," Griffen said.
"Everybody's got an opinion. You know, but what really matters is what we do with that opinion," Miller said.
Polls close at 7 p.m. on Election Day. Typically, if you're in line by then, election workers will accept your ballot. If you're not — even by minutes — your vote will not be counted.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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