Download a printer-friendly PDF
Here’s what you need to know if you’re planning to vote in Colorado in 2012:
VOTER ID REQUIREMENTS
All voters who vote at the polls must provide identification. Below is a list of acceptable IDs. If any form of identification listed below shows your address, that address must be in the state of Colorado to be valid. Acceptable IDs include:
- A valid Colorado driver’s license;
- A valid identification card issued by the Department of Revenue;
- A valid U.S. passport;
- A valid employee identification card with a photograph of the voter issued by any branch, department, agency or entity of the U.S. government or of Colorado, or by any county, municipality, board, authority or other political subdivision of Colorado;
- A valid pilot’s license issued by the Federal Aviation Administration or other authorized agency of the United States;
- A valid U.S. military identification card with a photograph of the voter;
- A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that shows the voter’s name and address.
For example:
o A cable bill or telephone bill;
o Documentation from a public institution of higher education in Colorado containing at least the name, date of birth and legal residence address of the student voter;
o A paycheck from a government institution or private company;
o A Certificate of Degree of Indian or Alaskan Native Blood; or
o A valid identification card issued by a federally recognized tribal government certifying tribal membership.
- A valid Medicare or Medicaid card issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (formerly the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration);
- A certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate issued in the United States;
- Certified documentation of naturalization; or
- A valid student identification card with a photograph of the voter issued by an institute of higher education in Colorado.
A Colorado ID is available at no cost to those who are eligible. For more information, please contact the Colorado Department of Revenue Division of Motor Vehicles at 303-205-5940 or go to: www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/Revenue-MV/RMV/1186476450044.
VOTER REGISTRATION
You may register to vote online or via written registration. The last day to register to vote is 29 days before Election Day.
To register online, you must have a Colorado driver’s license or ID card issued by the Colorado Department of Revenue. Visit https://www.sos.state.co.us/Voter/secuRegVoterIntro.do to get started on an online voter registration application.
To register using the paper form, you must have a Colorado driver’s license, an ID card issued by the Colorado Department of Revenue, the last four digits of your Social Security number or an acceptable ID. The paper form is available at: www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/vote/VoterRegFormEnglish.pdf.
VOTING IN PERSON
To find your polling place, call 303-894-2200, ext. 6307, or visit www.govotecolorado.com/.
VOTING BY MAIL
If you are voting by mail for the first time, you must include a photocopy of acceptable ID.
Your county clerk and recorder must receive your application to vote by mail no later than the close of business on the seventh day before the election. If you mail your application, make sure to allow time for delivery. If you want to pick up your mail-in ballot, you may pick it up at your county clerk and recorder’s no later than the Friday before the election.
Mail-in ballots must be received by the county clerk and recorder no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day. Voters are encouraged to drop off ballots at designated drop-off sites or mail their ballots in time to be received by the county clerk before the polls close. Postmarks do not count; ballots must be in the hands of the county clerk by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.
If you fail to receive a ballot or make a mistake, damage or lose your mail-in ballot, you may request replacement mail-in ballot from your county clerk. You also may go to the polls and vote a provisional ballot. The provisional ballot will be counted if you properly complete the provisional ballot envelope and do not return your mail-in ballot.
For more information on voting, call the Colorado Secretary of State Elections and Voting Division at 303-894-2200, ext. 6307, or go to http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/main.htm.