Colorado caucuses kick off the 2026 election season, shaping who lands on your ballot

SOUTHERN COLORADO (KOAA) — Colorado's 2026 election season is taking shape, and the caucus process now underway will determine which candidates make it onto primary ballots.

Think of caucuses as the pre-primaries, the first step in vetting candidates before voters see their names on an official ballot.

"They're selecting these individuals to run," said Strickler, an Associate Professor of Political Science at CSU-Pueblo.

Citizens living in El Paso County precincts are invited to participate in discussions to elect Democratic House District leadership tonight.

The following precincts are welcome to vote for delegates for the following offices:

Sierra High School - House District 17

• 5:30 PM
  Precincts: 169, 182, 185, 194, 199, 619, 620, 623, 624
• 6:30 PM
  Precincts: 601, 605, 609, 610, 612, 613, 622, 625, 627, 631
• 7:30 PM
  Precincts: 137, 187, 193, 196, 611, 614, 615, 616, 621, 626

Coronado High School - House District 18

• 5:00 PM
  Precincts: 89, 105, 106, 107, 111, 117, 176, 189, 471, 744, 745, 746
• 6:00 PM
  Precincts: 87, 109, 114, 133, 177, 603, 727, 729, 740, 742, 743
• 7:00 PM
  Precincts: 93, 110, 112, 113, 115, 118, 119, 604, 721, 724, 730
• 8:00 PM
  Precincts: 108, 602, 606, 720, 722, 723, 725, 726, 728, 745, 839

Welte Big Picture High School (Education Center) - House District 21 and House District 15

• 5:30 PM
  Precincts: 634, 635, 644, 645, 652, 800, 801, 802, 805, 807, 829
• 6:30 PM
  Precincts: 633, 636, 637, 643, 646, 648, 650, 651, 656, 657, 803, 808, 809, 810, 820
• 7:30 PM
  Precincts: 630, 632, 638, 639, 640, 641, 642, 654, 655, 804, 806

Pueblo County will hold its precinct caucuses for both parties on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The following precincts are welcome to vote for delegates for the following offices:

Centennial High School

• Precincts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 89, 90
  

Risley Middle School

• Precincts: 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 44, 45, 46, 91, 92, 97, 98, 99, 113, 117, 119
  

Dutch Clark Digital, aka Paragon

• Precincts: 43, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 93, 94, 95, 96, 101, 115, 401

Skyview Middle School

• Precincts: 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226

County High School

• Precincts: 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114, 116, 118
  

Rye High School

• Precincts: 301, 302, 303, 304, 305
  

Grand View Baptist Church

• Precincts: 402, 403

At caucuses, citizens deliberate over who should represent their precinct as delegates. Those delegates then cast official votes for their party's candidates.

"It's really like, you know, like an example of bottom-up democracy, grassroots democracy," said Strickler.

A candidate must earn the support of 30% of delegates to be placed on the ballot.

"30% of delegates have to support a candidate for them to get their name on the ballot," said Strickler.

Unaffiliated voters cannot take part in the caucus process. According to the Clerk and Recorder's Office, unaffiliated voters make up 52% of El Paso voters.

I asked Strickler why the majority of voters should still pay attention.

"They're voting for the, the slew of candidates that emerge through this caucus and petition process within the primary, right? So, paying attention to who emerges, who has support, and whatnot, if we care about who represents us, it's vital even for independence," said Strickler.

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