Public Comment: 2024 General Election Proposed Voter Service and Polling Center Locations

Pursuant to C.R.S. 1-7.5-105(1)(b), the Elections Division of the Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder’s Office is seeking public comment on this proposed designation of voter service and polling centers (VSPCs) and drop boxes for the November 5, 2024 General Election. 

Share your comments on this proposal through the online form linked below by  Monday, April 29, 2024. You may also send suggestions directly by email to elections@arapahoegov.com. 

Arapahoe County has many VSPCs and 24-hour drop boxes across the county to match increased voter registration. Arapahoe County voters vastly prefer to return a mail ballot rather than vote in person, but VSPCs are still an important part of Colorado’s election system. VSPCs provide a place for voters to get replacement ballots, register to vote for the first time, vote in person, vote with accessible ballot marking devices, vote with language assistance, use the curbside ballot pickup service, and drop off a mail ballot. 

For the November 5, 2024 General Election, Arapahoe County is planning to operate 32 VSPCs and 35 drop boxes. Drop boxes are open 24 hours, seven days a week. This map of all proposed locations shows the geographic coverage achieved across the county by these combined VSPC and drop box locations. 

Proposed VSPC locations 

The proposed set of VSPC locations for November 2024 serves a wide variety of neighborhoods, convenient to retail and employment centers, major commuter routes (by car, bus and light rail), and offers choices to voters in dense population centers to avoid undue lines during the busiest voting times.

VSPC locations will be opening in three different phases to accommodate early voters and maximize locations for the final high turnout days leading into November 5. Colorado law includes a formula that requires a minimum number of VSPCs for each phase, based on the number of active voters in the 2020 Presidential Election. For Arapahoe County, those requirements are: 

• 5 VSPCs must be open from Monday, Oct. 21, through Final Election Day (Phase 1) 

• 20 VSPCs must be open from Monday, Oct. 28, through Final Election Day (Phase 2) 

• 32 VSPCs must be open on Monday, Nov. 4, and Final Election Day (Phase 3) 

Under Colorado law, the County considers several factors when designating VSPCs, including: 

1. Proximity to public transportation lines and availability of parking.  

2. Geographic features, such as mountain passes, that tend to affect access and convenience.  

3. Equitable distribution across the county so as to afford maximally convenient options for electors.  

4. The existence and location of population centers.  

5. Access for persons with disabilities.  

6. Use of existing voting locations that typically serve a significant number of electors.  

7. Use of public buildings that are known to electors in the county, especially to the extent that using such buildings results in cost savings compared to other potential locations.  

8. Proximity to historically under-represented communities.  

9. The number of electors that used the location in prior elections and wait times at that location and nearby locations. 

10. The need to place locations in population centers that had lower turnout in prior elections. 

11. Polling locations shall be in public locations wherever possible. A private location may be used only when no appropriate public location is available. 

Most of these proposed VSPC locations have been used previously in a November election. Other proposed VSPCs would be used for the first time in the 2024 General Election. Some locations – such as those on higher education campuses – are mandated by state law based on the enrollment numbers at those colleges. 

Map of all Proposed VSPCs 

Please use this link to access the comment form.