Here's how today's ballot returns compare to 2014, 2016

DENVER, Oct. 23, 2018 -- Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams today released the first ballot return figures of the general election, although the office has been receiving the data for several weeks now.

The report shows that 159,312 Coloradans have turned in their ballots, including 57,695 Republicans, 55,450 Democrats and 44,300 unaffiliated voters.

A number of people have asked how this compares with the same point in time in the 2014 midterm election and the 2016 presidential election.

Attached are the counts from the ninth day after ballots were mailed in 2014 (10/21/2014) and 2016 (10/25/2016):

Ballots received by age, party, gender, 2018 General (XLSX)

2014 - 2016 Ballots returned (XLSX)