Colorado Might Let You Skip the Mail Ballot and Just Vote in Person

The Bottom Line

Colorado currently mails a ballot to every active registered voter, even the hundreds of thousands of people who prefer to cast their votes in person. This bill would create a simple, voluntary system allowing you to opt out of getting a mail ballot. It's designed to cut down on paper waste and save county printing costs, while keeping all your in-person voting rights completely intact.

What This Bill Actually Does

Since 2013, Colorado has been a universal mail-in ballot state. If you are an active registered voter, a ballot automatically shows up in your mailbox a few weeks before Election Day. But according to state data, over 250,000 Coloradans still prefer to vote in person during major elections. Senate Bill 26-106 addresses the resulting pile of unused paper by requiring the Secretary of State to establish a voluntary mail ballot opt-out process.

If the bill becomes law, the state has until March 1, 2027, to build a system that lets voters permanently say "no thanks" to the automatic mailer. You would be able to opt out—and just as importantly, opt back in—online, in person, or via a paper form. The bill requires a durable indicator in the statewide voter registration system so county clerks know exactly whose ballot printing to suppress for all mail ballot elections starting November 2, 2027.

To make sure nobody accidentally loses their right to vote, the legislation builds in a few crucial safety nets. Even if you opt out of the mailer, you still have full access to Voter Service and Polling Centers (VSPCs) to vote in person, use accessible voting machines, or even request a one-off mail ballot up to eight days before an election. The bill also requires county clerks to report exactly how many ballots they didn't have to mail out. The state will then use that data to track cost savings and post the numbers publicly on the Secretary of State's website.

What It Means for You

For the average Colorado voter, this bill is all about managing your mailbox and honoring your personal civic preferences. If you're someone who always drops your mail ballot in the recycling bin because you love the tradition of standing at a voting booth, this gives you a clean way out. Starting with the November 2027 elections, you could log into your state voter portal and simply uncheck the automatic mail delivery option. No more shredded ballots, and no more wondering if your unused ballot is sitting in a pile of junk mail on the kitchen counter.

A huge piece of this legislation is that opting out doesn't lock you out. Let's say you usually vote in person, so you choose the opt-out option. Then, two years down the line, you suddenly have to travel for work the week of an election. Under this bill, you retain the exact same rights as any other voter. You can walk into a polling center early, request a replacement ballot, or formally ask your county clerk to mail you a one-off ballot as long as you do it by the eighth day before the election. The choice is entirely voluntary and fully reversible if you change your mind later.

Beyond convenience, this is a rare chance to directly contribute to reducing local government waste. The state will be tracking exactly how many people take advantage of this program to calculate the reduction in county election costs. It’s a policy change where your personal preference to skip the mailer directly translates into measurable taxpayer savings, while ensuring your voice at the ballot box remains just as powerful.

What It Means for Your Business

If you own a business in Colorado, the biggest direct impact of this bill isn't actually about voting—it's about how the state pays for election software. The Colorado Department of State is almost entirely funded by business filing fees (think LLC renewals, trademark registrations, and trade name filings). To build the new computer systems and launch the required statewide voter education campaign, the state needs roughly $531,000 in FY 2026-27. Because the Department of State operates on a cash-fund basis, they will likely have to raise business filing fees across the board to cover this upfront cost. It's a classic example of how state administrative upgrades often trickle down to your annual operational overhead.

For businesses involved in the election supply chain—commercial printers, mail houses, and logistics vendors—this bill represents a structural shift in your market. Colorado counties currently print and mail millions of ballots every cycle. If hundreds of thousands of voters start opting out, the volume of raw materials, postage, and vendor handling required by county clerks will drop significantly by late 2027. If your company bids on county election contracts, you'll need to start modeling for lower print volumes and potentially smaller contract values over the next few election cycles.

On an internal HR level, if more of your employees choose to opt out of mail voting, you might see a slight uptick in requests for time off to vote in person on Election Day. Colorado law already requires employers to provide up to two hours of paid leave to vote if an employee doesn't have sufficient time outside of working hours. While many workers have shifted to mailing their ballots over the last decade, a resurgence in in-person voting means you should double-check your HR handbooks to ensure your voting leave policies are clear and compliant for your team.

Follow the Money

The financial mechanics of this bill are a fascinating tug-of-war between upfront state costs and long-term local savings. At the state level, the Department of State needs $530,880 in the first year to overhaul the statewide voter registration software to handle the new opt-out indicator ($230,880) and launch a mandatory public awareness campaign ($300,000). They will also require about $200,000 annually in subsequent years to hire permanent staff to track county reporting and continue voter outreach. As mentioned, these state-level costs will be funded through increased business filing fees rather than the General Fund.

The real financial payoff happens at the county level. The fiscal note estimates that if 250,000 voters (roughly the number who voted in person during the 2024 general election) choose to opt out, counties would save approximately $375,000 per election in printing, assembly, and postage costs, assuming a cost of about $1.50 per ballot. Because the state currently reimburses counties for 45% of state-certified election costs, those local savings will eventually trickle back up, potentially reducing the state's reimbursement burden over time.

Where This Bill Stands

SB26-106 is currently Dead. The latest official action came on 03/05/2026: Senate Committee on State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Postpone Indefinitely.

That means the bill is no longer advancing this session. In practice, measures that are postponed indefinitely or otherwise declared lost generally stay dead unless they are reintroduced in a future session.