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A ballot drop-off box with an American flag design and bilingual instructions.
A ballot drop-off box is seen Nov. 7, 2023, at the Windsor Gardens Community Center in Denver. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)
The Unaffiliated — All politics, no agenda.

It’s primary Election Day in Colorado, where voters will choose which major party candidates appear on the ballot in the November general election for U.S. Congress and the state legislature.

In the 4th Congressional District, which includes Douglas County and Loveland and sweeps across the Eastern Plains, voters will also cast ballots in a special election that will determine who serves out the remainder of former U.S. Rep. Ken Buck’s term. The Republican from Windsor resigned March 22.

If you haven’t voted yet, there’s still time to cast your ballot.

Colorado is a same-day voter registration state, so you can even register to vote and cast a ballot until polls close at 7 p.m. tonight. As long as you turn in your ballot or are in line to vote in person by 7 p.m., your vote will be counted. 

It’s too late, however, to mail your ballot back to your county clerk. You must turn your ballot in at a drop box or go to a polling place if you want it to be counted. 

To find a nearby drop box or polling location, visit this site. You can also check your voter registration status here.

Unaffiliated voters can cast a ballot in one party’s primary or the other — but not both, or your votes won’t be counted.

Here are some election resources from The Colorado Sun to help you fill out your ballot:

Results will start being posted soon after polls close at 7 p.m., but The Sun won’t publish stories on a race until it has been called or if we won’t know the results before the end of the night. 

Early results are just that, and we don’t want to mislead you about the direction of a race by reporting initial returns that don’t necessarily indicate the outcome of a contest. 

We’re expecting a lot of last-minute ballots this election, which means the counting process may be slow. Most counties typically report results through about midnight and then return to finish counting Wednesday.

The Sun will focus its Election Day coverage on certain races — including the Republican primary in the 4th District, where U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert is seeking reelection after changing districts. 

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We’ll also be watching what happens in a number of Democratic state legislative primaries that could determine the extent to which progressives are able to achieve their priorities at the state Capitol.

In K-12 education, the future of charter schools could be at stake in a Democratic state Board of Education primary centered in Boulder County.

Check coloradosun.com Tuesday evening and throughout the week for results and analysis. You can also follow our politics team on social media for updates through the day:

If you have Election Day questions or concerns, send them to questions@coloradosun.com.

Type of Story: Explainer

Provides context or background, definition and detail on a specific topic.

Brian Eason writes about the Colorado state budget, tax policy, PERA and housing. He's passionate about explaining how our government works, and why it often fails to serve the public interest. Born in Dallas, Brian has covered state...

Jesse Paul is a Denver-based political reporter and editor at The Colorado Sun, covering the state legislature, Congress and local politics. He is the author of The Unaffiliated newsletter and also occasionally fills in on breaking news coverage. A...