Colorado Voter Records

Colorado Secretary of State

Individual-level data on all registered voters in the state of Colorado. Voter record include registration status, voting activity, as well as geographic information.

Links:
Data Request Form Public Voter Data and Information Requests FAQs Fee Schedule
Unit of Observation:
Individual
Personally Identifiable Information Available for Linking:
Yes
Geography:
Colorado, United States of America
Years Available:
2012 - present
Cost:
Paid
Frequency of Updates:
List of registered voters is updated monthly. Voter history data is updated after statewide elections. Data sets that list voters with a ballot, mail ballots returned, and in-person voting are updated frequently (hourly or daily) during election periods.
Universe:

All citizens of Colorado who have either voted or registered to vote in a statewide election

Access

Individual-level, identified Colorado voter records data are available to the public upon request. Researchers may access data via a paid online subscription service, which allows for downloading data throughout a two-year election cycle, or researchers may request exports of individual data sets on disc (CD or DVD). Statewide lists of registered voters and voter history data are available, along with information on polling locations and voting method (in-person, mail, or military/overseas). Requests for access to the online service or for data exports should be submitted by mail using the data request form. The elections office also accepts data requests in person at their reception desk. Before submitting a data request, researchers should notify the elections office by email at [email protected] or by phone at 303-894-2200, ext. 3, to ensure efficient processing. 

While approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) is not required by the state to receive identified data, if researchers expect to link voter records with external data sets, they should confirm IRB requirements with the other data providers and their institution. Researchers can direct additional questions to [email protected].


 

Timeline for Access

With advance notice, after the elections office receives a completed request form and fee, the office typically grants access to the online service the same day, with data available for immediate download. Requests for data by disc will be returned through first-class mail within 72 hours depending on the request.
 

Lag Time

The statewide registered voter list is updated monthly. Voter history data are updated following the primary, general, and off-year elections. Data sets that list voters with a ballot, mail ballots returned, and in-person voting are updated daily or hourly during voting periods. Researchers should subscribe to the online service to access frequently-updated data sets in real time.

Cost

The election data subscription service costs $1,000 per two-year election cycle, beginning in the odd year, which includes statewide coordinated odd-year elections, primary, and general elections. The subscription service allows for researchers to make data pulls of live data throughout the two-year time period. Data requests on disc cost $50 per data set, with exports of the registered voter list, the voter history file, or other files at a given point in time each counting as one data set. 


 

Linking

Researchers may link the data to external data sets using the publicly available identifiers included in the data set.

Identifiers Available for Linking

  • Address
  • Birth year
  • Political party affiliation and date of affiliation
  • Phone number (if provided by the voter)
  • Gender identity (if provided by the voter)
  • Information about whether the voter has voted in previous elections
  • Although Colorado collects additional information such as social security number, driver's license number, month and day of birth, signature, and email address when constructing voter records, these data are not available in public requests.

Data Contents

Colorado voter records are organized into six data sets, each organized at the voter level.

  • Statewide Registered Voter List
  • Master Voter History
  • Statewide UOCAVA Voter List
  • Statewide Voter Service and Polling Center Locations List
  • Public List of voters with a ballot
  • Rejected (Curable) Ballots

Data include name, address, demographic information, registration status, voting activity, party affiliation, and voting precinct locations for all registered voters in the state of Colorado. These records do not disclose for which candidates or ballot questions the individual chose to vote.

Master Voter History data are available for each statewide election beginning with the 2012 Primary Election. These files include the list of voters registered at the time of the particular statewide election for which data is requested, so accessing historical snapshots of voter registration is possible.

 

Partial List of Variables

The Statewide Registered Voter List includes voter ID, first name, middle name, last name, residential address, birth year, gender identity (if provided by the voter), voter status code, political party and date of affiliation, phone number (if provided by the voter), county, and electoral precinct and district information.

The Master Voter History List includes the list of eligible voters for the particular statewide election, with the information from the registered voter list (minus the date of party affiliation), the election date and type, method of voting, party voted (for primaries), and electoral district information.

J-PAL Randomized Evaluations Using this Data Set

Gerber, Alan, Gregory A. Huber, Albert H. Fang, and Andrew Gooch. "The Generalizability of Social Pressure Effects on Turnout Across High-Salience Electoral Context: Field Experimental Evidence from 1.96 Million Citizens in 17 States." Working Paper, May 2016.

Other Research Using this Data Set

unknown

Last reviewed