Much at stake as Coloradans vote in a nail-biter of an election

In an election that has drawn unprecedented interest from Coloradans, the state’s voters are deciding on a president, a U.S. senator, seven U.S. representatives, dozens of state legislative positions, and ballot measures on abortion, taxation, wolves and how to choose future presidents.

Even before Election Day, two-thirds of Colorado’s 4.2 million active-status registered voters had already cast their ballots. As of Tuesday morning, more than 2.8 million Coloradans had voted already, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold reported. That’s just 20,748 fewer than the total of votes cast in 2016, the last presidential election.

This year’s election also is generating jitters amid rumblings about possible disturbances over the results. The city of Denver advised businesses downtown to be “aware of the potential for unrest and … to take precautions to protect your business.” Across downtown, many businesses and offices covered over their windows with plywood ahead of Election Day.

For the last several weeks, polls of Colorado voters consistently have shown former Vice President Joe Biden with a substantial lead in the state over President Donald Trump in the race for the White House.

An averaging of recent surveys by The Colorado Sun indicates a lead of 13 percentage points for Democrat Biden over Republican Trump in the state.

The polling gap may help explain why the two presidential candidates this year mostly passed over Colorado as they campaigned around the country. The state had enjoyed frequent visits from presidential hopefuls in past elections.

In the U.S. Senate race in Colorado, polls have shown a narrower but still sizable lead for the Democratic challenger, former governor and Denver mayor John Hickenlooper, over incumbent Republican Cory Gardner. The Sun reports that Hickenlooper’s lead over Gardner averages 9 points in recent state surveys. Colorado voters have been bombarded with more than $64 million in television ad spending in the contest, which both parties see as a key to political control of the Senate.

As for Colorado’s seven seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, all of which are on this year’s ballot, the most competitive race is in the sprawling 3rd Congressional District, encompassing the state’s mostly rural southern and western reaches, with pistol-packing Republican newcomer Lauren Boebert, having defeated incumbent Scott Tipton in the primary, running a tight race with Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush.

Also in this election, Republicans face what appears to be an uphill battle in their quest to pick off enough seats in the state Senate to win control of the chamber, now narrowly held by Democrats, whose firmer grip on the state House of Representatives seems secure.

Voters across the state are pondering 11 ballot measures. Among them: Amendment B would repeal constitutional provisions that put a lid on residential property tax rates. Proposition 113 would make Colorado part of a multistate pact to decide presidential elections by national popular vote, not by state-by-state wins. Prop 114 calls for reintroducing wolves in western Colorado. And Prop 115 would bar abortions after the 22nd week of pregnancy unless a woman’s life is at risk. The Colorado Sun has more on the 11 statewide measures here.

In local races, Denver’s ballot includes measures that would establish taxes to fund climate and homelessness programs, beef up the city council’s powers and repeal the city pit-bull ban. And voters in the metro-Denver suburbs are electing three new district attorneys to fill vacant seats.

If you haven’t voted yet, you can still either vote in person at a polling site or drop off the ballot that was sent to you. It’s too late to mail your ballot, however. Click here for more on how to cast your vote.

For more stories from Rocky Mountain PBS and our news partners about the 2020 election, click here. You’ll find national election coverage from PBS NewsHour here. And PBS’ FRONTLINE offers “The Choice 2020,” biographies of Trump and Biden, here.

Check back with rmpbs.org for results of key Colorado races.