This week, the 2016 election gets real. Colorado election officials will begin mailing ballots Monday to more than 3,125,300 active voters, and the initial wave of votes is expected by the end of the week. The first mail-ballot presidential election marks a fundamental shift in how elections are managed in Colorado and introduces significant variables to the political calculus that will determine the winners. “Election Day is really a misnomer,” said Eric Sondermann, a Colorado political analyst.