Denver’s Election Commission nows has turnout numbers for this year’s general election.
The early voting and absentee voting numbers each set new records for a non-Presidential year, and the percentage of votes cast early or absentee, 56%, sets a new record in Denver for any election not exclusively on a mail in ballot. Turnout as a percentage of registered votes was the lowest it has been at any midterm or Presidential election through 1986, the latest year for which the Denver Election Commission makes such figures available, although it could exceed the low 57.7% turnout in 1994 if enough provisional ballots are validated. Election day turnout in absolute numbers was lower than any midterm or Presidential election in the past twenty years, and was lower than in many odd year and municipal elections.About 44% (68,023 voters) voted at vote centers on election day. About 16% (25,029 voters) voted early. About 40% (62,859 voters) voted absentee. In addition 123 votes were listed in an “emergency category”. Total voter turnout, before provisional ballots have been counted was 57% with a total of 156,034. There are about 3,000 provisional ballots to be counted.
Many of the provisional ballots are likely to be valid because they were used at some locations to allow people to vote when their registration was not confirmed, not because there was doubt about the registration, but beacuse the computers at that vote center were not functioning.
