AURORA | As of Sunday morning, about half of the voters in Arapahoe County have already submitted their mail ballot or voted in person, according to county clerk officials.
Of the 152,092 votes submitted, 61,082, or about 40 percent of the ballots, were returned by Republican voters. Officials reported that 50,738, or about 33 percent of the ballots, were returned by Democrats. Another 38,859 ballots were returned by unaffiliated voters. The remaining ballots were returned by other political party members.
Only 1.5 percent of Arapahoe County voters have voted in person. The returned ballots so far are similar to what country clerks are seeing across the state.
In Adams County, Democrats are outpacing Republicans in a county where registrations reflect that same balance. As of Monday, 27,504 Democrats had returned ballots, 24,612 Republicans had returned ballots, and 20,150 unaffiliated voters had returned ballots. There are about 200,000 active registered voters in Adams County, according to county records.
A report from the Secretary of State on Friday showed 104,000 more Republicans than Democrats had cast their ballots as the state conducts its first major mail-in election.
The figure amounts to a 9-percentage point lead with more than half the expected ballots already cast.
New voting laws implemented in Colorado last year over objections of Republicans resulted in a ballot being mailed to every voter and allowed registration until Election Day.
So far it’s Republicans who have capitalized. Of the 1.1 million votes cast through Friday, 41 percent were by Republicans, 32 percent by Democrats, and 25 percent by voters not registered with either party.
Colorado’s voter registration rolls show an even split between the two major parties and people who are unaffiliated with a party.
Democrats noted that this year’s voting in the state so far is disproportionately comprised of GOP-leaning groups, implying that more liberal voters have yet to cast ballots.
More than 60 percent of those whose votes have been sent are 55 or older, a segment that grew from 45 percent in the midterm election in 2010.
Democrats have been trying to turn out voters who usually skip lower-interest midterms. But it’s Republicans who normally miss those elections who are voting in greater numbers this year.
The GOP even leads Democrats among voters 18 to 25, a group that has been the backbone of Democrats’ dominance over the past decade in Colorado.
— The Associated Press contributed to this story
The count is only the ballots, not who the voter chose. I know a number of registered Democrats that will not vote the party line this year.
I would expect that many of the Independents will also be voting for Republicans. I know many who were disappointed with the Republicans and changed their affiliation to Independent not to mention the Democrats I know that also changed to Independent because they felt lied to and taken advantage of by Obama and the Democrats.
the GOP are racist scum. Indies will go for dems
Really? I am Hispanic and my first language is Spanish and I can tell you that I and every other Hispanic person I know are all registered Republicans or Constitutionalists. I am not 3% Hispanic, I am Hispanic through and through and I absolutely oppose Amnesty. I oppose it because being bilingual, I straddle both the legal and illegal communities and I personally know all of the different ways in which illegals are stealing from the taxpayers via various social welfare benefits, etc. If they want to come here and work while never applying for benefits they did not contribute to then I am okay with that. I know plenty who are hard working and self sufficient and those are the people that should be considered for potential citizenship. Deport all others coming here to live off the system.
So, tell me again that the GOP are racists? I and others would dispute your claim as would many black people that I know as well.
And yes, I do personally know what it is to grow up poorer than poor with parents who stressed the value of good education and hard work, not envy for the wealthy or that they somehow owed us simply because they were wealthy. They also never spoke of welfare and food stamps as the answer to our problems. Never had new clothes or shoes, always hand me downs and slept three to a bed in a home smaller than a one bedroom apartment.
Your story has been the one the same as any Hispanic I have known personally. All despised Bill Clinton, were thrilled Bush was elected. None liked obewon, either as a person or Pres.