Ballots were mailed June 8 across Colorado – and the people casting them now are determining who will appear on the November ballot.
That deserves more attention than it usually gets.
According to the Colorado Secretary of State’s office, as of June 24, La Plata County’s active voters had returned ballots at a rate of 16.2%. Archuleta County stood at 16.0%, Montezuma County at 14.9% and San Juan County at 18.5%. Statewide, 578,570 ballots had been returned – just 14.4% of Colorado’s 4,021,408 active voters.
La Plata County posted 42.26% turnout in the 2022 primary but fell to 27.8% in 2024. Statewide, primary turnout dropped from 31.96% in 2022 to roughly 26% in 2024. Current return rates suggest the region has room – and reason – to do better.
Primary elections rarely generate the excitement of November contests, yet they are where voters first shape the choices that will define the general election. Candidates spend months earning a place on the ballot through petition drives, state assemblies or both. They travel the state, participate in forums, answer difficult questions and refine their ideas in response to voters.
Some candidates will not survive June 30.
Some of their ideas will.
Housing affordability, education, public lands, water, transportation, healthcare and public safety will remain part of Colorado’s public debate regardless of who advances to November.
Colorado has made participation easier than almost any state in the nation. Secure drop boxes are widely available, and more than 98% of Colorado voters chose to vote by mail in the 2025 coordinated election. This week, a federal court blocked provisions of a presidential executive order that would have allowed the administration to restrict which voters receive a mail ballot – a reminder that the infrastructure Colorado voters rely on is not guaranteed. Because voters approved open primaries in 2016, unaffiliated voters may also choose which major party’s primary to participate in.
The remaining question isn’t whether Coloradans can vote. It’s whether they will.
That matters because of who Colorado’s electorate actually is. Today, 51.4% of Colorado’s active voters are registered unaffiliated, compared with 25.0% Democrats and 22.6% Republicans. Yet of the state’s 2,067,943 active eligible unaffiliated voters, just 221,266 – about 10.7% – had returned ballots as of June 24. The group that dominates Colorado’s voter rolls is also the group with the most room to make its voice heard.
But the state’s ballot-return data also reveal a generational divide that should give every community pause.
Voters 65 and older account for more than 55% of ballots returned. Voters ages 18 to 24 account for just 3.2%; those 25 to 34 account for 6.2%. Together, voters under 35 represent less than one in 10 ballots cast so far.
Older Coloradans deserve credit for their consistent civic participation. They understand that elections have consequences.
But the decisions made in this primary will shape the future for every generation. Young families struggling with housing costs, students preparing to enter the workforce, business owners navigating the economy, ranchers confronting drought, retirees planning for healthcare, and communities across Southwest Colorado all have a stake in the leaders chosen this month.
Over the past month, the Herald Editorial Board interviewed candidates, published guest columns and recommended
John Hickenlooper, Dwayne Romero, Jeff Hurd, Phil Weiser, Barbara Kirkmeyer, Jessie Danielson, Michael Dougherty and Michael Allen in the major contested statewide races. We hope they helped.
It is too late to mail your ballot. Ballots must be dropped off at a county clerk’s office or secure drop box no later than 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 30.
The future of Colorado is not shaped only in November.
It is being shaped by you, right now.
Editor’s note: Herald editorials reflect the views of the Editorial Board, independent of news reporting. Opinion content – including editorials, columns and letters to the editor – is intended to encourage thoughtful discussion of public issues and candidates. While opinions may differ, the Herald strives to ensure that all content is grounded in facts, context and informed analysis.
