New laws related to ranked-choice voting and youth voting among six new approved election bills in Colorado

Colorado lawmakers adopted six election-related bills during the 2024 regular session of the Colorado General Assembly. Included among the approved legislation was an omnibus bill that changed a number of areas of election law and created new requirements related to the adoption of ranked-choice voting (RCV), as well as bills related to voting in detention centers, presidential electors, and firearms near polling locations:

SB 210 lowered the age for voter preregistration from 16 to 15 years old and eliminated the ability for 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections if they will be 18 at the time of the general election. It also required drop boxes on college campuses with at least 1,000 students (instead of 2,000), and made various other technical changes that supporters of the bill described as a clean-up of state election laws. The bill also requires 12 counties of varying sizes and demographic profiles to adopt and use RCV before it can be used for statewide elections. In some instances, the bill requires jurisdictions with a certain number of voters “who speak English less than very well” to adopt RCV before it may be adopted elsewhere. For more on the RCV portion of the bill, see here.

SB 72 provides eligible voters in county jails with access to in-person early voting for at least six hours on one business day between 4 and 15 days before Election Day. The new law also requires sheriffs to designate at least one person to facilitate voting at each county jail or detention center and provides for training and technical assistance for this designee.

HB 1150 addresses several aspects of the presidential elector process and adds criminal penalties for falsely submitting a list of presidential electors, knowingly voting as a false presidential elector, and knowingly voting as a presidential elector for candidates who did not receive the highest number of votes.

SB 131 modified rules for firearms in and near polling and tabulation locations. The new law prohibits the possession of a firearm within 100 feet of a voting, ballot counting, or ballot drop off location, instead of only prohibiting openly carried firearms at these locations. The legislation made an exception for property owners whose property is within 100 feet of these locations.

The information in this article is based on Ballotpedia’s State of Election Administration Legislation 2024 Mid-Year Report. The report provides insights, analysis, and takeaways from the 3,735 election-related bills we tracked in the first half of this year.