COLORADO, USA — Early indicators show a massive chunk of Colorado voters chose to vote in the Republican primary, according to a 9Wants to Know analysis of Secretary of State voter data.
Unaffiliated voters, who can choose to return either party's ballot during a primary election, make up a sizable portion of the electorate. More than 1.7 million active voters fit this category in Colorado, according to SOS data.
41% of the 408,403 unaffiliated voters that cast a ballot chose to return the Republican one and 30% of unaffiliated voters chose Democrat. However, 29% of unaffiliated ballots were still being processed when data was released Wednesday afternoon. The proportions may change as more ballots are accounted for.
Unaffiliated voters were the most prevalent in El Paso, Jefferson and Arapahoe counties. But -- those are some of the most populous counties in the state.
Women were more likely than men to vote -- Secretary of State data reviewed by 9Wants to Know showed that 624,877 women cast votes compared to 546,904 men. The female votes were split evenly between Democratic and Republican recipients. Approximately 100,000 more men voted for Republicans than Democrats.
Women and men ages 65-74 voted more than any other gender and age group. 157,687 women in that age bracket went to the polls.
A Secretary of State spokesperson said additional demographic data, like race and ethnicity, was not available.
Typically, 40% of active voters in each county participated in the primary. Kiowa County had the highest turnout of any Colorado county, with 67% of the county’s 1,012 active voters participating.
Adams and Denver counties had the lowest turnout percentages for the primary. 15% of the 289,692 active voters participated in Adams and 23% of Denver’s active voters went to the polls.
1.1 million Coloradans cast a ballot for Tuesday’s primary election, 31% of the state’s active voters.
Reach investigative reporter Zack Newman through his phone at 303-548-9044. You can also call or text securely on Signal through that same number. Email: zack.newman@9news.com. Call or text is preferred over email.
See the data for yourself:
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