Coloradans have so far returned 862,637 ballots as the state enters the final days before the election, according to Wednesday’s data from the Secretary of State’s Office.

Just over 22.6% of Colorado’s 3.8 million active registered voters have voted with only six days left until Election Day on Nov. 8. That means nearly 120,000 ballots were cast in the last 24 hours – higher than last week’s daily average of 90,300, but falling short of Tuesday’s record 200,000 ballots.

Despite recent gains, Colorado’s early voter turnout is still below previous years.

At this point during the 2020 election, nearly 1.93 million ballots had been returned, according to data from the Secretary of State’s Office. While presidential elections typically yield higher voter turnout, at this time during the 2018 midterm election, more than 940,000 ballots were returned.

The biggest dip in early turnout is among Republican voters, who made up the plurality of early voters – 35.3% – at this time in 2018. Then, Republicans returned nearly 332,000 ballots so far. Now, they’ve returned less than 252,000 ballots. That 80,098-ballot difference more than accounts for the overall 77,857-ballot drop between 2018 and 2022.

This year, unaffiliated voters have consistently led the early turnout. More than 318,000 of the ballots turned in so far came from unaffiliated voters, making up 36.9% of the total. Democrats are in second place with 33.0% of returned ballots, followed by Republicans with 29.2%.

Over 99.4% of ballots cast were mailed in, with only 5,088 people voting in person.

Older voters are still dominating the early turnout but have fallen slightly. Voters aged 65 and over have returned 45.7% of Colorado’s ballots – a strong plurality, but again sitting below 50% after losing the majority on Tuesday for the first time since early voting began. Voters aged 45 to 64 have returned 33.4% of ballots, and voters younger than 45 have returned 20.9% of ballots.

Jefferson County voters continue to make up the biggest chunk of early voters, submitting more than 108,000 ballots so far. Rounding out the top five: El Paso, Arapahoe, Denver and Douglas counties, with returned ballots ranging from 96,897 to 66,918.

The Secretary of State’s Office is expected to release updates on the returned ballots every weekday through Election Day on Nov. 8.

Ballots were mailed to registered Colorado voters two weeks ago. Early voting officially kicked off last Monday with the opening of 411 drop boxes and 121 voting centers throughout the state.

Voters can find their closest drop box or voting center and the hours of operation at GoVoteColorado.gov. By Election Day, there will be over 350 voting centers available to submit ballots, in addition to the 411 drop boxes currently open.

The ballot for the general election includes 11 statewide ballot measures, as well as more than 150 state and local races, plus local ballot initiatives in some counties.

The voter registration deadline to receive a ballot in the mail ended on Monday; however, Coloradans can still register to vote online at GoVoteColorado.gov and then vote in person until 7 p.m. on Election Day. In-person voting will be available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

RTD is offering free rides in its service area to allow voters to drop off ballots at ballot boxes or vote in person on Election Day.