How to vote in Colorado: Answers to common questions

Colorado is voting in the 2022 election.

• Election Day is Nov. 8, but mail ballots and in-person early voting is underway.

What to know: With our partners at the Colorado News Collaborative, we compiled a quick guide on what you need to know to vote.

How to register: Colorado has automatic voter registration. So you might already be registered, and can check your status here.

• If you're not, you can register online or mail in a paper registration form. Voter registration also is available on-site at voter service and polling centers between Oct. 24 and Nov. 8.

Who is eligible to vote: You must be 18 years or older and a U.S. citizen. You must also be a Colorado resident for at least 22 days before the election.

• If you're currently incarcerated, you cannot vote. But if you're on parole or served your sentence, you can.

If you're a college student: If you keep your Colorado residency and vote by mail. If you establish residency in a different state where you're going to college, you vote there. You cannot vote in two states.

• If you're a college student from a different state, you can establish residency in Colorado and vote here. Note that by establishing residence here, you give up your residency elsewhere.

If you're in the military outside Colorado or living overseas, you and your family are permitted to vote and get extra time to do so.

• The mail ballot can reach Colorado as late as the eighth day after the election — Nov. 16, this year. You also have an online option to securely upload and send an image of your ballot

When to expect your ballot: Ballots begin getting mailed out to active registered voters between Oct. 17 and Oct. 21.

• Your ballot will be sent to the mailing address on your voter registration.

• If you don't get a mail-in ballot, update your registration by Oct. 31 or pick up a ballot at your county clerk's office or a polling center.

Mail ballot submission deadline: By 7pm on Nov. 8 to a drop box, polling center of clerk's office.

• See a list on your county election's website, but here, for example, is information about drop box locations in Denver, Douglas and Jefferson County.
• Pro tip: Don't forget to sign the envelope of your mail ballot or it won't get counted. (If your signature is missing on your envelope, you'll get a letter letting you know and you'll have to provide your signature within eight days after Election Day.)

In-person voting: Begins Oct. 24 and runs to Nov. 8 (except Oct. 29, Oct. 30 and Nov. 6). See the state's election calendar for more details and deadlines.

• Check online to see your polling place in your community.
• You must bring an acceptable ID. If your ID lists an address, it must be in Colorado.