Coloradans who already turned in their ballots with votes for presidential candidates who’ve since dropped out can’t redo their ballots this year — but lawmakers are discussing whether that can be an option in future presidential primaries.

Elections officials have been encouraging voters to turn in their Super Tuesday mail ballots early so results can be available earlier in the state’s first presidential primary in 20 years, but that means some voters selected candidates who are no longer in the race, such as Pete Buttigieg or Amy Klobuchar.

Secretary of State Jena Griswold noted Sunday on social media that Colorado voters who filled out ballots but have not turned them in can still obtain new ballots or cross out their previous selection and pick a new candidate by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

If you have marked a ballot but have not returned it, you can change your selection by crossing out your first pick and then marking the oval next to your preferred candidate. Or, you can get a replacement ballot in-person at a VSPC. Visit https://t.co/OQ2SXOeniQ. — Jena Griswold (@JenaGriswold) March 2, 2020

But what if there was another option?

House Majority Leader Alec Garnett, a Denver Democrat, told reporters Monday morning that there should be a discussion about changing the law to allow voters to make their voices heard through Election Day.

“Every voter should have the opportunity, even if their vote was cast for the election, and their candidate dropped out, to go in to the county clerk and have the opportunity to pull a provisional ballot and vote for who remains in the race,” Garnett said.

“These are some issues that I don’t think the Legislature discussed as that bill was making its way through the process, so it’s something I think we should be talking with both sides of the aisle on,” Garnett said.

Only three other states hold all mail-ballot statewide elections, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, making the issue of voting early for a candidate that may drop out early fairly unique.

Garnett said he hasn’t spoken to lawmakers about specific solutions, but after the results came in from South Carolina’s caucus and Buttigieg’s announcement Sunday, he has heard from constituents asking what they can do.

“I think it was a little frustrating on my end to say, ‘There’s nothing you can do,'” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, a Democrat from Boulder, said he has also heard from people who are frustrated by being unable to change their votes, and he thinks this is an issue lawmakers can tackle this year for future elections, though he doesn’t yet know what the exact solution should be.

“It could be logistically difficult, but I think it’s worth looking into,” Fenberg said.

But for House Minority Leader Patrick Neville, a Castle Rock Republican, unless Colorado switched to a ranked-choice voting system for the presidential primaries — which he would be willing to consider — the issue is logistically impossible to resolve.

“There’s no other way to let people change their votes unless you get rid of ballot secrecy,” he said.

Ranked-choice voting is a system in which voters rank candidates on a ballot by order of preference. A candidate who gets the majority of votes either in the first round or additional rounds if one candidate doesn’t get the majority initially is selected.

Griswold’s office formed a committee to examine ranked-choice voting and alternate voting methods last year, and the committee held its first meeting last month. None of the proposals would take effect for 2020 elections.

“When you have a big primary for a big seat, there’s always a chance that someone will drop out,” Griswold said. “For the Coloradans who cast their ballots and had their candidates drop out all before the end of the election on Election Day, it kind of underlies why people are supportive of ranked-choice voting and alternative voting methods.”

Colorado law already allows municipalities to adopt ranked-choice voting, and Telluride has taken advantage of it in its mayoral races, but potential statewide changes would have to come from the state legislature or through a ballot measure.