El Paso County sees highest number of ballots cast in state, high unaffiliated voter turnout
EL PASO COUNTY — As of Wednesday night, voter turnout among active voters in El Paso County is at 78% and is expected to climb as election workers continue to process votes.
El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker said he anticipated county voter turnout to reach as high as 90%, which would outpace turnout for the past two presidential elections. The county saw 83% voter turnout in 2020 and 85% during the 2016 election.
So far, the county has the highest number of votes cast in Colorado with 389,757 votes, according to data from the Colorado Secretary of State's Office posted on Wednesday.
Right now, unaffiliated voters make up 46% of ballots cast in the county, which continues to prove the group's large influence on how elections go in El Paso County. Data from the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder's Office shows younger voters tend to align with this group. The average age of registered unaffiliated voters in the county is 39 years old. Registered Democrats are 49 years old on average while registered Republicans in the county are 55 years old on average.
The southeast side of Colorado Springs is once again seeing lower voter turnout compared to the rest of the county, with some areas as low as 45% turnout. Josh Dunn, a political science professor, said one reason could be because the area is more liberal in a traditional red county.
"If you know, for instance, that well, the Republican is going to win the Fifth Congressional District, and you don't have a competitive race in the state legislature it might decrease your motivation to turn out. Also, if you know that the Democratic candidate is going to win the presidential election or the presidential race in Colorado," said Dunn.
Areas with military installations are also showing lower voter turnout. One precinct including Peterson Space Force Base on the southeast side of Colorado Springs shows a 47% voter turnout while precincts including Fort Carson show 38% to 44% voter turnout.
"The military voters can register just about anywhere. So, that could mean that they decide to register at another state, their home state, where they're from. If you're moving consistently, you know, changing your vote, you know, your voter registration could just be another thing that you'd rather not have to deal with if you're going to be changing residences every two years," said Dunn.
One shift in early voter turnout results shows more El Paso County voters casting their ballots for the Democratic presidential candidate than in the past two presidential elections. Vice President Kamala Harris has received 44% of the county's votes as of Wednesday night. In 2020, Joe Biden received 43% of the votes in El Paso County while Hillary Clinton received 34% in 2016.
"The democratic vote is getting stronger in El Paso County. It's still a safe Republican county, but it's much lower than it historically had been," said Dunn.
To see the latest Colorado and El Paso County election results and voter turnout numbers,. _____
