COLORADO — The Colorado General Assembly passed eight election-related bills during its 2026 regular session, which adjourned on May 13, 2026. Gov. Jared Polis signed all eight bills between April and June 2026.

One of the bills, HB 1113, changes Colorado's election laws. The bill requires election officials to mail ballots to voters between 29 and 25 days before an election. Prior to HB 1113, state law mandated mailing ballots between 22 and 18 days before the election.

HB 1113 requires institutions of higher education that use electronic course registration to email students information about voting hours, locations, and ballot drop boxes before election day. The bill allows employees two hours off from work to vote on any day when voter service and polling centers are open, expanding from prior law that only permitted time off on election day.

To improve polling place operations, HB 1113 requires counties to measure and record wait times at each voter service and polling center. Counties must report this data to the secretary of state within 30 days after the election. If a polling place had wait times longer than one hour, the county must submit a report to the state.

The bill permits a registered voter to protest another voter's registration if that person is not a citizen, is not at least 15 years old, is deceased, or is no longer a resident of the state. HB 1113 outlines procedures for filing and adjudicating these protests. The Colorado Senate approved the final version on May 4, 2026, with 23 Democrats voting in favor and 12 Republicans voting against. The Colorado House approved the bill on May 7, 2026, with 42 Democrats in favor and 22 Republicans against. Gov. Polis signed HB 1113 on June 1, 2026.

Other election-related legislation signed by Gov. Polis includes HB 1023, which requires political parties to provide alternate means for participating in party caucuses or assemblies, such as conference or video calls. HB 1038 establishes standards and processes for county commission redistricting. HB 1084 mandates the inclusion of information in the ballot information booklet regarding an initiated measure's impact on state expenditures if it is likely to increase them without providing revenue or spending reductions. HB 1320 requires proposed constitutional amendments to have ballot titles written in plain language. Additionally, SB 142 requires voters in a municipality to approve or reject the sale of a thermal energy network, and SB 145 establishes requirements for considering charter school capital construction needs when a school district prepares a ballot question.