In 2016, Colorado voters approved propositions 107 & 108- which gave unaffiliated voters the opportunity to vote in Colorado and presidential primary elections, without affiliating with a specific primary.
With this year’s primary being the first for unaffiliated voters in the state- it made for a record breaking year for primary turnout in the state.
More than one million Colorado voters turned in their ballots for Tuesday’s primary.
In El Paso County alone, more than 100,000 ballots were turned in- breaking the previous record of 86,000 for a primary in the county.
This year’s election brings a few variables that could contribute to the more than a million voters turning in their ballots.
With unaffiliated voters having the chance to participate, it brought 280,958 additional voters into this year’s primary.
That’s according to the most recent data released from the Colorado Secretary of State’s office.
Additionally, several high profile races were put on the ballot this time around including an open seat for governor, congressional seats, and many county races.
El Paso County Clerk & Recorder Chuck Broerman told News 5 this week the content and the enthusiasm for unaffiliated voters were both driving forces.
