View Scorecard for Year
Responsive Gov’s Grade TL;DR
Yet again, the Colorado General Assembly advanced new pro-voter policies, including first-in-the-nation legislation that extended voter preregistration to 15-year-olds as well as increasing voter access for qualified incarcerated individuals. While this might seem like a small change, extending the pre-registration age will have a significant impact for other gold standard programs Colorado already implemented, like automatic voter registration. No other state has taken this initiative thus far, keeping Colorado ahead of the curve regarding pro-voter policies. Because of these additional improvements, the state received an A+ on this year’s progress report.
Looking Back
Where Colorado Started at the Beginning of 2024
- Automatic Voter Registration: Secure AVR
- Online Voter Registration: OVR+
- Same-Day Registration: Yes
- Restoration of Rights: Prison Disenfranchisement
- Vote by Mail: Vote by Mail
- Electronic Registration Information Center Member: Yes
- Early Voting Opportunities: Regular Ballot Early Voting
- ID Requirements: ID Requested, but Not Required
Relying on the Cost of Voting Index for Colorado as of 2024, we considered the state a top tier state for pre-existing voting policy and compared its 2024 activity against other top tier states.
How Our Tier Compares
- COVI (2024): 8th
- EPI Score (2022): 3rd
- CLC State Scorecard (2022): 9/10
- MAP Democracy Rating (2024): HIGH
2024: This Past Year
Legislative Action
The Colorado Legislature continued to pioneer new ideas to further expand voting in the state. This year it passed legislation to lower the voter preregistration to 15 and set new requirements for voting in jails that will greatly expand ballot access.
- SB 210 lowered the pre-registration age from 16 to 15 and expanded dropbox access on college campuses. Lowering the preregistration age to 15 will allow people under 16 years of age obtaining their permit from the DMV to benefit from Colorado’s AVR system.
- SB 72 requires sheriffs to establish polling places inside jails for every general election and requires every jail to designate a ballot drop off location.