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

Colorado Poll Institute, an independent, nonprofit organization that conducts public opinion research. A survey was conducted with 822 voters between October 25 and November 4. They talked about their views on the issues in question, as well as their comfort with the electoral system itself.

Pollsters heard a wide range of answers when they asked people to name the most important issues their state government should address, but economic concerns, from inflation to housing shortages to jobs and wages, were the main issues most people wanted addressed.

“The prices are terrible,” Adams County voter Liz Cardenas said in September. “Gas. Electricity. Food. To have fresh food, you have to have your own garden and grow your own crops.

To summarize the top issues, 12 percent of survey respondents mentioned immigration and the border, while another 10 percent said abortion or housing should be priorities for Colorado policymakers.

That’s a big change from last March, when abortion wasn’t in the top 10 of voters’ concerns. But after months of the issue taking center stage in Democrats’ campaigns for president and Congress and emerging as a change on the Colorado ballot measure, the issue’s urgency has clearly increased in the minds of many voters.

“It makes mothers so sad when women lose our rights like we did in Roe v. Wade,” said Commerce City resident Gina Strain. He told CPR News ahead of the election. “This needs to be fixed. Women’s rights are important.”

Voter Voices research conducted by CPR News, COLab and other Colorado newsrooms rolled out similar priorities during the heat of the election, by a big margin.

In the Voter Voices survey, which gives people a list of issues to choose from and does not specify whether they should be considered from a state government or federal perspective, democracy and good government It was the best choice. When CPI’s poll allowed people to state their own issues, only 1 percent of voters said election integrity and democracy should be a primary concern for Colorado’s state government.

Participation continued its downward trend

Coloradans who voted were deeply invested in this year’s presidential election, with 85 percent saying the outcome would be somewhat or more important to their families, according to the CPI poll. Those views align with how voters across the country feel about the importance of the race.

The other story of this election, however, is that a smaller share of Colorado voters returned their ballots in any presidential election since 2002, long before the state moved to reforms such as the use of mail-in ballots aimed at increasing voter turnout.

Some of the increases and decreases in turnout can be attributed to several cycles in which Colorado was a true battleground state. National data show that This turnout is growing thanks to focused attention campaigns that lead to volatile situations, as well as voters’ growing awareness of the power of their vote.

This year’s turnout numbers also show the growing strength of independent voters in Colorado. While fewer registered Democratic and Republican ballots were returned compared to 2020, the total number of absentee ballots increased slightly.

We examine voters’ preferences in depth

For those who returned their ballots, the survey found a shift among voters from starting the election season more hostile to the other party’s candidate to more actively supporting their own candidate.

In a spring survey by CPI, 63 percent of those who plan to vote for Joe Biden for president said their primary motivation was to vote against Donald Trump. When the election came, only 36 percent said this, the rest voted favorably for Kamala Harris.

Trump voters’ motivations have also changed slightly. While 45 percent said they voted against Biden in the spring, this rate dropped to 24 percent as of Election Day.

When it comes to ballot measures, Coloradans continue to say they’re happy to have the chance to vote directly on the state’s laws and constitution, despite the lengthy votes and lots of research it could require.

The survey also revealed intriguing details about the fate of Proposition 131; This would change the way the state elects its leaders by introducing all-candidate primaries and ranked-choice 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 almost 60 percent of voters 45 and older opposed it.

While both major political parties fought against Proposition 131, their voters felt differently. While 70 percent of Republicans polled think it’s a bad idea, less than half of Democrats and unaffiliated voters think it’s a bad idea.

Confidence in Colorado elections remains high

Key elements of Colorado’s voting system were the target of conservative skepticism this year; especially mail ballots and 24-hour drop boxes. But the vast majority of survey respondents said they were satisfied with the way the state conducted the elections.

The results have a slightly partisan flavor; Only 72 percent of Republicans are satisfied with the current system, while 99 percent of Democrats are satisfied with the current system. When asked to rate how well local officials are doing in the upcoming election, 95 percent of Democrats gave them an A or B, while 45 percent of Republicans gave them.

Voter Voices research revealed similar ideological divides regarding confidence in elections. More than 90 percent of liberals said they were confident elections in Colorado would be held fairly, while 39 percent of Republicans preferred that rate.

Conservatives were even more skeptical when it came to national voting: Only 13 percent said they had full confidence in the process leading up to the election. By contrast, 54 percent of liberals said they believed the elections would be run nationwide.