More than half Colorado voters have voted with 5 days until the election

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Coloradans have flocked to the polls -- both in person and through their mail-in ballot system -- in the lead up to the general election, with more than half of all registered voters having cast their ballots with five days remaining until the Nov. 3 election.

Polling figures reported as of Thursday morning, show that over 2.12 million of the anticipated 3.72 million voters have submitted their vote – and Democratic voters are neck and neck with the number of unaffiliated voters who have returned their ballots.

So far, Democrats account for 35.27 percent of ballots returned to the state, but independent voters are actually taking a marginal lead accounting for 35.96 percent of the votes cast, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

Republican voters have returned just over 27 percent of the ballots received.

“Amazing #EarlyVote milestone. Over 2.1 million Coloradans have now voted, with six days still remaining!” tweeted Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold.  “It’s easier than ever— hundreds of drop boxes around the state are open for submitting your ballot.”

Griswold has advised Coloradans to no longer submit their ballot through the mail as Election Day draws nearer, and to place their ballot in a drop box instead, to ensure it is returned to the state by Nov. 3.

While some states extended their deadline past the closing of the polls on Election Day, Colorado has not granted any extensions – meaning all ballots are due in Colorado by 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 in order to ensure they are counted.

The vast majority of ballots in Colorado have been recieved through their vote-by-mail system, with more than 2,077,000 mail-in ballots having been accepted, while just over 46,000 votes were cast in-person.

Colorado opened their mail-in voting system on Oct. 9, allowing for more time to mail in a ballot as the coronavirus pandemic continues to increase in the U.S. and globally.

As in-person voting didn’t open until Oct. 19, there will likely be an increase in the number of people that head to polling stations to cast their vote – though Colorado has seen increases in the number of voters that rely on the mail ballot system due in large part to the coronavirus pandemic.

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During the 2016 general election, 93 percent of voters relied on voting by mail, while only 7 percent of voters headed to the polls to vote in-person.

But during the 2020 primaries 99.3 percent of voters submitted their vote through the mail, and just .7 percent of Coloradans appeared to vote in-person, a Secretary of State spokesperson told Fox News.