With Election Day rapidly approaching, it is important to remember that we may not have final results — in Colorado and nationally — until after November 5.
In terms of the presidential election, some states, like the pivotal swing states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, have to wait until Election Day to even begin processing mail-in and absentee ballots which will slow down the count in races that could decide the next president of the United States.
In the 2020 election, it took four days to get the final results. According to the Pew Research Center, 46% of votes cast in the 2020 election used either absentee or mail-in ballots. Many states had expanded access to early voting and absentee ballots to make it easier for people to vote, as they grappled with COVID-19 pandemic. While this led to higher voter turnout in both 2020 and 2022, it also caused reporting delays in some states. President Trump and some of his allies seized on these legitimate delays as an opportunity to push election fraud conspiracies. Trump even demanded that officials stop counting ballots just hours after the polls closed.
In Colorado, the entire election process, including recounts, can extend into December, but we will likely know the majority of results well before then.
According to the Colorado Secretary of State’s 2024 Election Calendar, we still have several key milestones coming up. Please note that election laws vary by state and these dates apply to the elections held in Colorado:
October 21: This was the first day for counting mail ballots that have been received; results will not be disclosed until Election Day after 7 p.m.
October 28: This will be the last day for people to submit a voter registration application and still receive a ballot by mail for the election.
October 29: If county clerks receive a voter registration application from this point onward, the clerk will process the application and inform the voter that they will not receive a mail ballot; to receive a ballot they will have to visit a Voter Service and Polling Center. Furthermore, this will be the last day for county clerks to submit election set-up records for the 2024 election to the Secretary of State.
November 5: Election Day, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. All ballots have to be received by clerks by 7 p.m. on Nov. 5.
November 8: Deadline for the Secretary of State to select target contest(s) to be audited in the risk-limiting audit (RLA) for the 2024 election. This is one of the techniques used to ensure an accurate vote tally. It is also the deadline for the SOS to provide a public notice of the meeting to establish the random reed seed for the RLA.
November 13: This will be the last day for someone to cure any signature discrepancies/missing signatures, or provide missing IDs for mail or provisional ballots. This must be completed before midnight. Last day for ballots cast by overseas and military electors to be received by clerks for them to be counted.
November 14: This is the last day for county clerks to complete the verification and counting of provisional ballots for the election.
November 15: Deadline for any counties conducting a comparison audit to upload: verified and hashed ballot manifests (and the manifest’s hash value to the SOS office), verified and hashed CVR exports to the SOS, and RLA tabulation results exports to the Secretary of State’s election night reporting system. Counties must finish tabulating all in-person and accepting mail ballots cast by registered voters in the county by this day. Once the tabulation is complete, counties will generate a report summarizing the results, and a results file export that will be uploaded to the SOS’s ENR system and CVR export. Nov. 15 will also be the first day that interested parties can request and file for a recount, at their own expense, for the 2024 election.
November 18: Deadline to notify counties of any ballots selected to be audited and the final deadline for the Secretary of State to create a random seed for use with the RLA Tool.
November 26: Deadline for county audit boards to sign, date, and submit a report of the results of the risk-limiting audits to the Secretary of State.
November 27: Final day to complete the canvass and submit official abstract votes for the election to the Secretary of State. Last day for political subdivisions that referred to ballot issues/questions that failed in the election to waive an automatic recount of that issue, they will have to submit a giving written notice to clerks and recorders. This is also the last day to request and file a recount. It’s worth noting that county clerks must determine any recounts within four days of receiving a recount request, but no later than 24 days after the election.
November 29: The deadline for recount costs to be determined and to upload the final canvass results for the election to the ENR system. It is also the final day for the Secretary of State to order a complete statutory recount.
December 2: Final day for counties that have conducted any comparison risk-limiting audit for the election to review its cast vote record file and redact CVRS corresponding to any ballot card that could be used to personally identify any individual voter, if no recount has been requested. It is also the final day for any group to request recounts to pay for the costs of the recount.
December 6: Last day for any required statutory recounts for any 2024 races to be completed.
December 10: Final day for any 2024 recounts that have been requested by interested parties to be completed.
December 11: If a recount was required, this Wednesday is the last day for counties that have conducted comparison risk-limiting audits for the election to review its cast vote record file and redact CVRS corresponding to any ballot card that could be used to personally identify any individual voter.
December 13: If a recount was requested, this is the last day for counties that have conducted comparison risk-limiting audits for the election to review its cast vote record file and redact CVRS corresponding to any ballot card that could be used to personally identify any individual voter.
December 17: This is when the Electoral College meets at the state Capitol.
Finally, after the election, county clerks must report the number of ballot return envelopes with any discrepant signatures that they have forwarded to the district attorney for investigation, in writing, to the Secretary of State.
