Through Sunday night, more than 1.6 million Coloradans had voted in the general election, amounting to 43% turnout among active registered voters nine days before Election Day.

In a shift from the prior week, unaffiliated voters, who are the largest voting bloc, have cast nearly as many votes as registered Democrats, with only a 43,000-ballot difference between the two. Republicans, by contrast, have cast nearly 145,000 fewer votes than those who are unaffiliated.

Eight counties have surpassed 100,000 votes cast, which include the Denver metro area jurisdictions plus El Paso County.

Secretary of State Jena Griswold reminded voters earlier in the day that Monday was the last recommended day to return ballots through the mail to ensure they would arrive at county offices by the election. Remaining options include returning ballots via drop box or voting in person.

The deadline for county clerks to receive ballots is 7 p.m. on Nov. 3. Voters can update their registration and find in-person voting locations or drop boxes at www.govotecolorado.com. People may register in person through Election Day and vote.

By Monday afternoon, 62 million people nationwide had already cast votes, according to the U.S. Elections Project from University of Florida political scientist Michael McDonald. In Colorado, turnout so far has been 56% of the final vote count in 2016.