Boulder, Colorado Public Records

Registration deadlines are 22 days before any election for mail registration, though voters can register or update their registration online up to 8 days before Election Day. Same-day registration is available at Voter Service and Polling Centers during early voting and on Election Day with proof of residency such as a Colorado driver's license, utility bill, bank statement, or paycheck. The City of Boulder holds municipal elections in odd-numbered years for Mayor, who serves a four-year term, and City Council members, who serve four-year staggered terms. The next municipal election will be held November 4, 2025, with candidates filing in summer 2025. The city uses a ward-based system with nine council seats representing different geographic areas plus an at-large mayor. Local ballot measures frequently address open space funding, climate initiatives, affordable housing programs, and tax measures. Voters can find their assigned Voter Service and Polling Center locations at BoulderCountyVotes.org or by calling the Elections Division. Colorado allows voters to cast ballots at any polling center in their county, not just assigned precincts. All active registered voters receive mail ballots automatically approximately 22 days before each election under the state's universal vote-by-mail system established in 2013. Voters can return ballots by mail (postage-paid, must be postmarked by Election Day), at 24-hour drop boxes throughout Boulder County (locations at bouldercounty.org/elections), or in person at Voter Service Centers. In the November 2024 presidential election, the county recorded approximately 73% voter turnout with over 225,000 ballots cast from approximately 240,000 active registered voters, reflecting consistently high civic engagement. On November 3, 2026, local voters will decide several significant races: Colorado's U.S. Senate seat (Class II, currently held by a senator whose term expires January 2027), Colorado Governor and other statewide constitutional offices, all Colorado House of Representatives seats (65 districts, two-year terms), half of the Colorado Senate seats (18 of 35 districts, four-year terms), Boulder County Commissioner seats, Boulder County Sheriff, Boulder County Clerk and Recorder, and Boulder County Assessor. State legislative districts affecting the area include Senate District 18 and House Districts 10, 11, and 33. Voters will also likely decide state ballot initiatives—Colorado's citizen initiative process frequently produces ballot measures on taxes, education funding, and policy issues—and potential Boulder County ballot questions. Colorado election records that are publicly accessible include the statewide voter registration database (available for purchase by campaigns and researchers with personal information redacted for general public access), campaign finance reports searchable at tracer.sos.colorado.gov showing contributions and expenditures for all candidates and political committees, candidate filing information and petition signatures, and precinct-level election results posted at bouldercounty.org/elections typically within hours of polls closing. Voter history—which elections a person voted in, but not how they voted—is part of the public voter file. Colorado statute § 1-2-227 governs public access to election records.