From 1974 to 2018, Colorado voted for 10 Democratic governors and two Republican governorsColorado gained statehood in August 1876. After voting primarily Republican from 1920-2004, the state has voted with the Democrats in the last three presidential elections, including Hillary Clinton’s five-point margin in 2016. That election saw one of Colorado’s electors attempt to vote for John Kasich. That vote was disallowed and the elector was replaced.Surrounded by deeply red states (except for New Mexico), the state is today one of the few battlegrounds in the Western half of the country. Coloradoís population has been growing, and it now has 50% more electoral votes than it did in the 1960s. Based on population trends at the end of 2016, the state may gain a 10th electoral vote after the 2020 presidential election.National voting triviaIn 1792, legally, Election Day was officially designated because this guaranteed that no more than 34 days could pass between the first Wednesday in December, which is when the Electoral College met to vote on the president and vice president. An early November date was also considered because it enabled more voters to go to the polls. Back then, most Americans were farmers, so this date ensured that farmers werenít trying to find time to vote during the busy harvest season, but the date wasnít so late in the year that voters needed to battle winter storms while they walked, rode horses or drove buggies to the polls.President Zachary Taylor never once voted prior to his electoral victory. He never voted and kept his political beliefs a secret up until his 1848 election.In the early days, votes were not cast by a secret ballot but by raising hands or by voice. By the mid-1800s, some states were using paper ballots but voters or party leaders were responsible for bringing the ballots to the polls and the votes were public. Massachusetts was the first state to pass a law requiring secret ballots in 1888. The trend spread across the United States; and, in 1891, Kentucky was the last state to adopt this law.George Washingtonís entire campaign budget for his 1758 election to the House of Burgesses was spent on liquor ñ 50 British pounds to purchase 160 gallons of alcohol that was given to 390 voters. This was a tradition in England, one that Washington borrowed and employed in Virginia.Gerald Ford†is†the only person who served as president and vice president without having been elected to either office.
