Colorado Revised Statutes

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 1-7-114 (2026)

Write-in votes

✓ current as of July 2026

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(1) Eligible electors may cast a write-in vote for a candidate who has filed an affidavit of intent of write-in candidacy pursuant to section 1-4-1101 by writing the name of the person in the blank space provided for write-in candidates on the ballot. Each write-in vote may include a reasonably correct spelling of a given name, an initial or nickname, or both a given name and an initial or nickname, and shall include the last name of the person for whom the vote is intended. Whenever write-in votes are cast, they shall be counted only when the intention of the elector is clearly apparent.

(2) A vote for a write-in candidate shall not be counted unless that candidate is qualified to hold the office for which the elector's vote was cast.

(3) If the elector has cast more votes for an office than he or she is lawfully entitled to cast, by voting for both a candidate appearing on the ballot and a valid write-in candidate, neither of the votes for the office shall be counted.

(4) (a) The designated election official shall make a list of eligible write-in candidates and provide the list to the election judges. The order of the write-in candidates on such list may be determined by the time of filing the affidavit pursuant to section 1-4-1101.

(b) Except as may be required to accommodate a person with a disability, election judges shall not verbally comment on write-in candidates. Upon request of an eligible elector, an election judge may display to the requesting elector the list of eligible write-in candidates provided to the judges by the designated election official. The list shall not be posted nor may the list be taken into a voting booth.

(c) A designated election official may post the list of eligible write-in candidates on the official website of the designated election official.

Source: L. 92: Entire article R&RE, p. 737, § 9, effective January 1, 1993. L. 93: (1) amended, p. 1419, § 70, effective July 1. L. 96: (4) added, p. 1746, § 41, effective July 1. L. 2016: (4)(c) added, (SB 16-142), ch. 173, p. 580, § 45, effective May 18.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former §§ 1-7-309 (3) and 1-7-507 (3) as they existed prior to 1992. For a detailed comparison, see the comparative tables located in the back of the index.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 1 case (1 in the last 5 years), 2023–2023 · leading case: Anderson v. Griswold, 2023 CO 63 (Colo. 2023).

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Anderson v. Griswold, 2023 CO 63 (Colo. 2023). · cites it 2× “See § 1-7-114(2), C.R.S. (2023) (“A vote for a write-in candidate shall not be counted unless that candidate is qualified to hold the office 132 for which the elector’s vote was cast.”

— Colo. Rev. Stat. § 1-7-114(2) — 1 case

Anderson v. Griswold, 2023 CO 63 (Colo. 2023). “See § 1-7-114(2), C.R.S. (2023) (“A vote for a write-in candidate shall not be counted unless that candidate is qualified to hold the office 132 for which the elector’s vote was cast.”

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