Immigration, abortion, housing and the cost of living were on the minds of Coloradans as they returned their ballots this fall.

The Colorado Polling Institute, an independent nonprofit that conducts public opinion research, polled 822 voters between October 25 and November 4 on their views on the issues at stake, as well as on their comfort with the electoral system itself.

When surveyors asked people to name the most important issues the state government should tackle, they heard a wide variety of responses, but economic concerns – from inflation and the housing shortage to jobs and wages – were the main things most people wanted to see addressed.

“The prices are so bad,” Adams County voter Liz Cardenas said in September. “Gas. Electric. Food. You have to have your own garden and do your own planting” to have fresh food.

To round out the top issues, 12 percent of people polled talked about immigration and the border, while another 10 percent each said abortion or housing issues should be priorities for Colorado policymakers.

That’s a big change from last March, when abortion didn’t make the top 10 list of voters’ concerns. Yet after months of the issue becoming central to Democratic presidential and congressional campaigns, as well as appearing as an amendment on Colorado ballots, its urgency has clearly risen in the minds of many voters.

“For women to lose the rights that we did with Roe v. Wade, that unleashed a lot of mama bears,” Commerce City resident Gina Strain told CPR News before the election. “It needs to be corrected. Women’s rights matter.”

The Voter Voices poll conducted by CPR News, ET AL and other Colorado newsrooms during the election heatwave presented similar priorities, with a big difference.

In the Voter Voices poll, which gave people a list of issues to choose from — and didn’t specify whether to think in terms of state or federal government — democracy and good governance it was a top choice. When the CPI poll allowed people to name their own issues, only 1 percent of voters said election integrity and democracy should be a top concern for Colorado state government.

Voter turnout continued its downward trend

Coloradans who voted were deeply invested in this year’s presidential election, according to the CPI poll, with 85 percent saying the outcome would matter quite a bit or more to their family. Those views are consistent with how voters across the country felt about the importance of the race.

However, the other story of this election is that a smaller share of Colorado voters returned their ballots than in any presidential election since 2002, long before the state moved to reforms such as the use of to all mail-in ballots that were intended to increase voter participation.

Some of the ups and downs in voter turnout can be attributed to the few cycles Colorado has been a bona fide battleground state. National data suggest this turnout is driven by focused attention on swing state campaigns, as well as voters’ heightened awareness of the power of their vote.

This year’s voter turnout numbers also show the growing power of Colorado’s unaffiliated voters. Fewer registered Democrats and Republicans returned ballots compared to 2020, while the total number of unaffiliated ballots increased slightly.

Analyzing voter options

For those who returned their ballots, the survey captured a shift among voters — from beginning the election season more opposed to the other party’s candidate to becoming more actively in favor of them.

In a spring poll by the CPI, 63 percent of those who planned to vote for Joe Biden for president said their real motivation was to vote against Donald Trump. By the time the election arrived, only 36% said so, with the rest voting yes for Kamala Harris.

Trump voters have changed their motivation a bit. In the spring, 45 percent said they were voting against Biden, a number that dropped to 24 percent by Election Day.

When it comes to ballot measures, Coloradans continue to say they’re glad to have the chance to vote directly on state laws and the constitution, despite the lengthy ballots and extensive research they may entail.

The survey also revealed interesting details about the fate of Prop. 131, which would have changed the way the state elects its leaders by introducing all-candidate primaries and elective voting.

The measure failed by just over 7 points, but the poll found a generational gap between yes and no votes.

The idea was popular among voters 44 and younger, especially men, but was opposed by nearly 60 percent of voters 45 and older.

While both major political parties fought against Prop. 131, their constituents felt differently. 70 percent of Republicans polled thought it was a bad idea, compared to less than half of Democrats and unaffiliated voters.

Confidence in the Colorado election is still high

Major elements of Colorado’s voting system have been the target of conservative suspicion this year — especially mail-in ballots and 24-hour drop boxes. However, an overwhelming majority of people in the poll said they were satisfied with the way the state was conducting its elections.

The results have a bit of a partisan flavour; only 72% of Republicans are satisfied with the current system, compared to 99% of Democrats. And when asked to rate how well their local officials are doing in elections, 95 percent of Democrats gave them an A or B, compared to 45 percent of Republicans.

The Voter Voices survey highlighted similar ideological divides when it comes to trust in elections. More than 90 percent of liberals said they were confident Colorado’s election would be fair, compared to 39 percent of Republicans.

When it came to the national vote, Conservatives were even more skeptical: just 13% said they had full confidence in the process ahead of the election. In contrast, 54% of liberals said they had confidence in how well the national election would go.