Colorado voters ballots will be tallied Tuesday, Nov. 7 on everything from statewide measures — Propositions HH and II — to school board and mayoral races.
Denver7 will have a running live blog of election and voting updates after polls close at 7 p.m. and races are decided. You can also watch 24/7 Denver7 news coverage in the player below or by clicking here.
Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023
12:10 a.m. | Denver Public Schools race
Kimberlee Sia holds the lead in the Denver Public Schools District 1 race with 55.51% of the vote (14,285 votes), followed by Scott Baldermann with 44.49% (11,448 votes).
In District 5, Marlene DeLaRosa holds the lead with 59.45% of the vote (11,752 votes), followed by Charmaine Lindsay with 24.11% (4,767 votes).
Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023
11:41 p.m. | Aurora mayoral race
Incumbent Mike Coffman holds the lead in Aurora's mayoral race with 54.63% of the vote (29,474 votes), followed by Juan Marcano with 38.31% (20,667 votes).
11:30 p.m. | Denver Public Schools race
Kimberlee Sia holds the lead in the Denver Public Schools District 1 race with 55.58% of the vote (14,023 votes), followed by Scott Baldermann with 44.42% (11,209 votes).
In District 5, Marlene DeLaRosa holds the lead with 59.36% of the vote (11,256 votes), followed by Charmaine Lindsay with 24.1% (4,569 votes).
9:59 p.m. | Denver Public Schools race
John Youngquist has declared victory in the Denver Public Schools Director At-Large race after Kwame Spearman conceded. According to the latest election results, Youngquist holds the lead with 62.42% of the vote (59,286 votes) while Spearman has 26.06% (24,754 votes).
In a statement, Youngquist said he looks forward to "listening to our children, their parents, our teachers and our principals to better understand the work that we need to prioritize as a school district."
“I got into this race because I care deeply about the future of the Denver Public Schools and the education that every child in our city receives. As a first-time candidate, I am grateful for the volunteers and supporters that have made this campaign possible. Winning this race reaffirms my understanding that our community is determined to have a school board that will work together to ensure that every child has a safe, motivating, effective learning experience that propels them into their successful future. I look forward to listening to our children, their parents, our teachers and our principals to better understand the work that we need to prioritize as a school district. We will succeed together. I thank Kwame Spearman for his candidacy and his interest in serving our city, and I hope that he continues to engage in the ongoing discussion to improve Denver Public Schools.”
In District 1, Kimberlee Sia holds the lead with 55.61% of the vote (12,589 votes) followed by Scott Baldermann with 44.39% (10,846 votes).
In District 5, Marlene DeLaRosa holds the lead with 59.17% of the vote (10,200 votes) followed by Charmaine Lindsay with 24.21% (4,174 votes).
9:10 p.m. | Aurora mayoral race
Incumbent Mike Coffman continues to hold the lead in Aurora's mayoral race with 55% of the vote (26,549 votes), followed by Juan Marcano with 37% (17,895 votes).
9:05 p.m. | Denver Public Schools race
John Youngquist continues to hold the lead in the Denver Public Schools Director At-Large race with 63% of the vote (54,011 votes). Kwame Spearman is in second place with 26% of the vote (22,126 votes).
In District 1, Kimberlee Sia holds the lead with 56% of the vote (12,529 vote), followed by Scott Baldermann with 44% (9,857 votes).
In District 5, Marlene DeLaRosa remains in the lead with 59% of the vote (9,091 votes), followed by Charmaine Lindsay with 24% (3,690 votes).
8:22 p.m. | Proposition II passed
Proposition II passed with a comfortable landslide based on unofficial Election Day results and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.
The proposition will allow the state to keep and spend $23.7 million in tax revenue that has already been collected from the sale of tobacco and nicotine products. Click here to read more.
7:49 p.m. | Proposition HH defeated
Despite seeing home values soar by double digits, Colorado voters have rejected Proposition HH, which would have lowered skyrocketing property tax bills by accessing TABOR refunds.
The Associated Press called the Proposition HH race less than an hour after polls closed. Click here to read more.
7:15 p.m. | Aurora mayoral race
Mayor Mike Coffman holds the lead in Aurora's mayoral race with 57% of the vote (22,816 votes), followed by Juan Marcano with 36% (14,650 votes).
7:10 p.m. | Statewide races
The "no" votes for Proposition HH have 59% of the vote (239,092 votes) while the "yes" votes have 41% (165,970 votes).
In terms of Proposition II, the "yes" votes have 69% of the vote (277,347 votes) while the "no" votes have 31% (126,487 votes).
7:00 p.m. | Denver Public Schools race
John Youngquist holds the early lead in the race for Denver Public Schools Director At-Large with 63% of the vote (50,579 votes). Kwame Spearman is in second place with 25% of the vote (20,371 votes)
In District 1, Kimberlee Sia holds the lead with 56% of the vote (11,951 votes) followed by Scott Baldermann with 44% (9,394 votes).
In District 5, Marlene DeLaRosa holds holds the lead with 59% of the vote (8,287 votes) followed by Charmaine Lindsay with 24% (3,330 votes).
6:30 p.m. | Prop HH watch party
From Denver7 reporter Brandon Richard: Colorado Democrats and supporters of Proposition HH are gathering at their watch party in downtown Denver. The room is filling up. Still 30 minutes before the polls close
5:30 p.m. | Lower turnout this cycle
While it is normal for turnout to be lower during an off-cycle election, with nearly 4 million active voters in Colorado only slightly over 1 million voters returned ballots, as of data from earlier this morning. As a percentage, that’s around 26 percent of voters statewide that have participated.
Denver7 reporter Rob Harris said political strategists have said more ballots could come in later as voters have learned about ballot initiatives like Prop HH, which would impact property taxes.
2:15 p.m. | “Please be patient in the results:” Joan Lopez, Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder.
Lopez reminded voters Tuesday that there are 8 days after the election for the state to accept overseas ballots and Secretary Griswold added: Election night results are never official results. In the days after the election, military and overseas voters return their ballots, signature discrepancies can be fixed and bipartisan audits are conducted to determine the statistical confidence in the results,” she said.
2:15 p.m. | “Please be patient in the results:” Joan Lopez, Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder.
Lopez reminded voters Tuesday that there are 8 days after the election for the state to accept overseas ballots and Secretary Griswold added: Election night results are never official results. In the days after the election, military and overseas voters return their ballots, signature discrepancies can be fixed and bipartisan audits are conducted to determine the statistical confidence in the results,” she said.
Outside the Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch Library in Aurora, Lopez shared personal thoughts on the facility she described as “triple access.”
She said she grew up right down the street and went to Crawford Elementary School. “This is really near and dear to my heart,” said Lopez. “We lived right next door to the school. My mother is legally blind so we didn’t have any other transportation other than RTD. Having a voting center here means a lot to me,” she said.
1:45 p.m. | 99.5 percent of Colorado voters in the November 7 election have voted by mail-in ballot instead of by in person, Secretary of State Jena Griswold reported Tuesday morning.
Outside of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch Library in Aurora, serving as a tri-county voter center, officials updated the latest figures in what is shaping up to be an election that, so far, is trailing voter turnout when compared to previous cycles. “Turnout is a little behind 2019 and 2021 as of last night but there is still plenty of time to close that gap,” said Secretary Griswold. “If voters have a ballot sitting on their kitchen counter, there is still a lot of time to get that to a drop box.”The secretary said Colordans can still register to vote up until 7 p.m. Tuesday and still cast a ballot in the election.
“I encourage every voter to get out the vote, make a plan to vote today before 7 p.m.” said Griswold. “As long as you’re in line by 7 p.m., you’ll be able to register and cast a ballot.”
There are over 400 drop boxes across Colorado and 130 voting centers and you can find a location near you by clicking this link.
On where the numbers stand as of Tuesday morning, Griswold said, so far, over 1,031,000 Coloradans have cast their vote. “And we expect that number to increase today. Of the total ballots cast, 30 percent have been by democrats, 31 percent by republicans and 38 percent by unaffiliated voters,” she said.
Turnout by party showed 34 percent of republicans have voted, 29 percent of democrats and 21 percent of unaffiliated voters.
1:35 p.m. |“Every single election matters. Every single vote is counted:” Paul López, City and County of Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul López.
Also updating the latest numbers and how this election compares to previous cycles, Clerk López urged voters that there is still plenty of time to make their voice heard.
“In our tri-county area and all throughout the state, you’re going to have city council members, mayors, school boards, two state issues, various issues depending on the county, it all depends on our ability to come out to the vote, to turn out that vote and to turn those ballots in no later than 7 p.m.,” said López.
He said In 2021, 35 percent of active registered voters returned a ballot in Denver and as of Tuesday morning, Denver was 1 percentage point ahead of that statistic.
He reminded voters to be sure and sign the back of your ballot envelope.
“And for folks who perhaps turned 18 today, you can still register today. You can visit one of our vote centers, register to vote and cast your ballot,” said López.
8:32 a.m. | 1, 030,883 mail in ballots have been received by Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold's Office.
5, 015 people have voted in person.
6:18 a.m. | Denver election leaders said ballot processing will no longer be live streamed, but it will be recorded, and Coloradans can request it.
It’s a coordinated election in Colorado today - as of a couple of days ago more than 830,000 ballots had been returned.
— Veronica Acosta (@VeronicacostaTV) November 7, 2023
In Denver, officials say security is top of mind. Ballot processing will no longer be live-streamed, but you can watch other ways.@DenverChannel pic.twitter.com/dZ0jGlC1NN
Monday, Nov. 6, 2023
Election results are not reported based on the manner in which ballots are cast, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold's Office reminded voters Monday.
Counties can start reviewing signatures once ballots are received and begin processing them 15 days before Election Day.
However, initial results will not be reported until after polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
“Election night results are never final results,” Secretary Griswold said in a news release Monday. “After election day, ballots continue to be counted, military and oversees voters ballots can still be received, signature discrepancies can be fixed, and bipartisan audits are conducted to confirm the results!”
Counties may post results to their websites, but they're not required to do so, according to Secretary Griswold.
Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023
More than 654,000 ballots had been returned as of the end of the day Thursday. With more than 3.9 million active voters in Colorado, that marks a less than 17% voter turnout so far.
Of the ballots returned, 29% have come from registered Democrats, 32% have come from registered Republicans, and nearly 38% have come from unaffiliated voters.
Click here to read more.
Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023
Governor Jared Polis issued an executive order, as he's done for prior elections as well, that assigns nine members of the state national guard to work with the Secretary of State's Office to ensure election cybersecurity defense.
Friday, Oct. 30, 2023
Each registered eligible voter is advised to put their ballot in the mail Friday for it to be counted. Otherwise, you will need to find the closest official drop box nearest you. You can put your ballot in a drop box up until 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 7, 2023 when polls close.
Monday, Oct. 16, 2023
Counties will begin mailing ballots to registered voters, except for military and overseas voters. Click here to find your sample ballot.
Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023
Use trusted sources when looking for election inform, Secretary of State Jena Griswold's Office warned voters Wednesday, and remain alert to election disinformation.
“I encourage all Coloradans to use trusted sources like GoVoteColorado.gov or your County Clerk’s website to get trusted information on Colorado’s upcoming election,” Sec. Griswold said in a news release Wednesday.