DENVER – Colorado voters continue to buck the national trend and are participating more and more in the political process, according to a report released Thursday on the 2016 election.
Colorado in 2016 election had the fourth highest turnout, at 72.1 percent. The state ranked behind Minnesota, at 74.8 percent; Maine, at 72.8 percent; and New Hampshire, at 72.5 percent. Wisconsin came in fifth, at 70.5 percent.
It is the third straight presidential election where Colorado has ranked in the top five states in terms of turnout.
Colorado’s status as a battleground state and citizens’ direct participation in decision making is key to its ranking, said Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams.
He also pointed out that Colorado has the highest percentage of eligible voters, and the state's "commitment to registering voters makes this possible.”
Colorado’s 72.1 percent ranking crushes the national turnout of eligible voters, which was 60.2 percent.
Colorado lawmakers in 2013 passed an election overhaul bill that eliminated neighborhood polling places and created same-day voter registration and all-mail balloting, although each county is required to open a certain number of in-person vote centers two weeks before an election. Prior to the changes, Colorado ranked third nationally in turnout.
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