Elections in Colorado

Elections in Colorado
Federal government Presidential elections 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Presidential caucuses and primaries Democratic 2008 2012 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2012 2016 2020 U.S. Senate elections 1876 1879 1883 sp 1885 1889 1891 1895 1897 1901 1903 1907 1909 1913 1913 sp 1914 1918 1920 1924 1924 sp 1926 1930 1932 1932 sp 1936 1938 1942 1942 sp 1944 1948 1950 1954 1956 1960 1962 1966 1968 1972 1974 1978 1980 1984 1986 1990 1992 1996 1998 2002 2004 2008 2010 2014 2016 2020 2022 2026 U.S. House elections 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1927 1st sp 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 3rd sp 1941 4th sp 1942 1944 1st sp 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1983 6th sp 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
State government General elections 2010 2014 2018 2020 2022 Gubernatorial elections 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Attorney General elections 2018 State Senate elections 2013 (recall) 2016 2018 2020 State House elections 2018 2020 2022
Ballot measures 2004 36 2006 38 41 42 43 44 E F G H I J K 2008 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 54 58 59 L 2010 62 2012 64 2018 A 2020 113 114 EE
Aurora Mayoral elections 2011 2019
Colorado Springs Local elections 2019 Mayoral elections 1995 1997 sp 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019
Denver Mayoral elections 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
El Paso County Local elections 2018
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Elections in Colorado are held to fill various local, state and federal seats. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time.

In a 2020 study, Colorado was ranked as the 7th easiest state for citizens to vote in.^[1]

Electoral system[]

Party system[]

A political organization is a political party when its candidate for governor receives at least 10 percent of the vote in the latest general election.^[2] Party members choose their party's nominees for the general election in a primary election.^[3] Party members also elect the county central committee members at the primary election.^[4] Colorado uses an open primary system, whereby party members and unaffiliated voters may vote in the party's primary.^[5][6][7]

There are three distinct aspects of party organization: the committee system, the designating assembly system, and the convention system.^[4] The systems operate with respect to public offices for the state, counties, US congressional districts, state senatorial districts, state representative districts, and state judicial districts. (Judicial district elections only concern the district attorney;^[8] district court and county court judges are nominated by a judicial nominating commission of the judicial district.^[9])

• The designating assembly system designates candidates to be elected (at a primary election) as party nominees for public office.^[10] A precinct caucus is held in each precinct by each political party, where party members (who bother to show up) elect delegates to the county assembly.^[11][12] The county assembly chooses candidates to contest the primary election for county elected offices and elects members of the state assembly and district assemblies (congressional assemblies, judicial district assemblies, senatorial assemblies, and representative assemblies).^[6][13][12] Candidates may also be nominated by petition.^[7] The party's state assembly governs the party when it is in session.^[14]

• The major purpose of the convention system is to ultimately select delegates to the national convention.^[15] The precinct caucus also elects delegates to the county convention, and the county conventions elect delegates for the state convention and district conventions (congressional conventions, judicial district conventions, senatorial conventions, and representative conventions).^[11][13][12] The state convention elects members to the party's national committee, nominates electors to the US Electoral College, and elects delegates to the national convention.^[16]

• The committee system runs the party, while the state central committee governs the party when the party's state assembly is not in session.^[14] The precinct caucus nominates candidates for the county central committee, composed of precinct committeeman, which are elected at the primary election.^[17][18] The county central committee runs the party within the county, through a committee chairman who is assisted by an executive committee in larger counties.^[17] The county central committee chairman also compose the state central committee along with additional members.^[14] The district committees (for congressional districts, judicial districts, senatorial districts, and representative districts) are also composed of the county central committee chairman.^[18][19] The state central committees also have a state chairman and a state executive committee.^[20]

To be designated to contest the party's nomination at a primary election, a candidate must receive at least 30 percent of the delegates' votes at a party assembly.^[21] Candidates may also petition party members to contest the primary election, with at least 20 percent of the party members (of those registered within that political subdivision) for offices of or within a county, 30 percent for districts larger than a county, and 2 percent for statewide offices.^[22][8]

Election procedure[]

A combination of local caucuses, primaries and general elections determines the top state offices (Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General), as well as U.S. and state legislative races. Presidential races are decided by primary and general elections, with no caucuses. Legislation passed in 2016 instituted open primaries beginning with the 2018 races, and eliminated caucuses for presidential races starting in 2020.^[7][23]

Electoral history[]

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See also[]

• United States presidential elections in Colorado
• 2020 Colorado elections
• Women's suffrage in Colorado

References[]

Citations[]

Sources[]

External links[]

• Colorado at Ballotpedia
• Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Colorado", Voting & Elections Toolkits
• "League of Women Voters of Colorado". (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
• Digital Public Library of America. Assorted materials related to Colorado elections
• "State Elections Legislation Database", Ncsl.org, Washington, D.C.: National Conference of State Legislatures, State legislation related to the administration of elections introduced in 2011 through this year, 2020