The Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder’s Office finalized the June 26 Primary Election, with results certified by the Board of Canvassers July 11. The election determined which Democratic and Republican Party candidates will appear on the Nov. 6 General Election ballot to vie for local, state and federal seats. See official results at www.arapahoevotes.com.
Arapahoe County sent mail ballots to all Democratic, Republican and unaffiliated voters and also offered in-person services at five Voter Service and Polling Centers. It was the first primary election in Colorado in which unaffiliated voters could cast a ballot for any one major political party.
Total turnout in Arapahoe County was 119,311 ballots, which is 32.01 percent turnout of 372,699 active eligible voters as of June 26. Of the ballots cast, 42 percent were voted by Democratic voters, 34 percent by Republican and 25 percent by unaffiliated voters. No minor parties held a primary election, so voters affiliated with minor parties were not eligible to vote.
In this historic election, unaffiliated voters had the option to declare a party preference in advance, or receive a packet with both the Democratic and Republican ballots and vote only one. Of the unaffiliated voters who cast a ballot, 67 percent cast a Democratic ballot and 33 percent cast a Republican ballot. In total, 805 unaffiliated voters in Arapahoe County mistakenly cast two ballots in this election, which were rejected and did not count. This comprises 2.7 percent of unaffiliated ballot packets received by the County.
Arapahoe County voters continue to enjoy the convenience of mail ballots, with 99 percent of votes cast by mail ballot and just 1 percent cast in-person over eight days at a Voter Service and Polling Center. Only one provisional ballot was counted in this election.
The Board of Canvassers was required to canvass the results within 22 days of the Primary Election. Board members include Clerk and Recorder Matt Crane as the Primary Election Official, Arapahoe County Democratic Party Chair Mary Ellen Wolf and Arapahoe County Republican Party representative Myron Spanier. The Board’s duties included reviewing:
- The name of each candidate receiving votes, the office and the total number of votes received;
- The number of mail-in ballots cast, including the number accepted and rejected; and
- The number of flat ballots cast, including those cast and printed from new electronic voting tablets.
For more information about Arapahoe County elections, please call 303-795-4511, visit www.arapahoevotes.com, follow @arapahoeclerk on Twitter or ArapahoeVotes on Facebook.
# # #
Download photos of the Arapahoe County Primary Election: ftp://ftp.arapahoegov.com/Pub/Communication%20Services/Photos/Election/