First Regular Session
Sixty-first General Assembly
LLS NO. 970793.01D DLC
HOUSE BILL 971353
STATE OF COLORADO
BY REPRESENTATIVE Schauer
STATE, VETERANS &
MILITARY AFFAIRS
A BILL FOR AN ACT
CONCERNING THE NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES BY PETITION.
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced
and does not necessarily reflect any amendments which may be subsequently
adopted.)
Eliminates the designation of political party candidates for the primary election ballot by petition, thereby making designation by the party assembly the sole means for placement of a political party candidate on the primary election ballot.
Creates an exception to the requirement that unaffiliated candidates who wish to be nominated by petition be unaffiliated for 12 months prior to the petition filing deadline by allowing a person to be placed in nomination by petition for the general election who attempted and failed to get 30% of the votes at a political party assembly if such person is an eligible elector of the district and withdrew his or her party affiliation after the assembly.
Makes conforming amendments.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
SECTION 1. 12222 (3), Colorado Revised Statutes, 1980 Repl. Vol., as amended, is amended to read:
12222. Errors in recording
of party affiliation. (3) For
the purposes of determining the eligibility of candidates for
nomination in accordance with sections
SECTION 14601 (4) (a), and
14801 (4), OR the eligibility
of persons to vote at any precinct caucus, assembly, or convention
in accordance with section 13101, or
the eligibility of persons to sign petitions in accordance with
section 14801 (2), the
date of declaration of the party affiliation of the elector shall
be the date of the declaration which the elector alleges by affidavit
to have been erroneously recorded or unlawfully changed or withdrawn.
SECTION 2. 14102, Colorado Revised Statutes, 1980 Repl. Vol., as amended, is amended to read:
14102. Methods of placing
names on primary ballot. All candidates
for nominations to be made at any primary election shall be placed
on the primary election ballot either
by certificate of designation by assembly. or
by petition.
SECTION 3. 14103, Colorado Revised Statutes, 1980 Repl. Vol., as amended, is amended to read:
14103. Order of names on
primary ballot. Candidates designated
and certified by assembly for a particular office shall be placed
on the primary election ballot in the order of the vote received
at the assembly. The candidate receiving the highest vote shall
be placed first in order on the ballot, followed by the candidate
receiving the next highest vote. To qualify for placement on the
primary election ballot, a candidate must receive thirty percent
or more of the votes of the assembly. The names of two or more
candidates receiving an equal number of votes for designation
by assembly shall be placed on the primary ballot in the order
determined by lot in accordance with section 14601
(2). Candidates by petition for any
particular office shall follow assembly candidates and shall be
placed on the primary election ballot in an order established
by lot.
SECTION 4. 14603, Colorado Revised Statutes, 1980 Repl. Vol., as amended, is repealed as follows:
14603. Designation of party
candidates by petition. Candidates
for political party nominations may be placed on the primary election
ballot by petition, as provided in part 8 of this article.
SECTION 5. 14604, Colorado Revised Statutes, 1980 Repl. Vol., as amended, is amended to read:
14604. Filing of certificates
of designation by assembly. Every petition
or certificate of designation by
assembly in the case of a candidate for nomination for any national
or state office or for member of the general assembly, district
attorney, or district office greater than a county office shall
be received and filed in the office of the secretary of state.
Every petition or
certificate of designation by assembly in the case of a candidate
for nomination for any other elective office shall be filed in
the office of the county clerk and recorder of the county where
the person is a candidate. Certificates of designation by assembly
shall be filed within ten days after the adjournment of the assembly.
Petitions shall be filed prior to
sixtyfive days before the primary election. Late
filing of the certificate of designation shall not deprive candidates
of their candidacy.
SECTION 6. 14605, Colorado Revised Statutes, 1980 Repl. Vol., as amended, is amended to read:
14605. Order of names on
primary ballot. Candidates designated
and certified by assembly for a particular office shall be placed
on the primary election ballot in the order of the vote received
at the assembly. The candidate receiving the highest vote shall
be placed first in order on the ballot, followed by the candidate
receiving the next highest vote, and so on until all of the candidates
designated have been placed on the ballot. The names of two or
more candidates receiving an equal number of votes for designation
by assembly shall be placed on the primary ballot in the order
determined by lot in accordance with section 14601
(2). Candidates by petition for any
particular office shall follow assembly candidates and shall be
placed on the primary election ballot in an order established
by lot.
SECTION 7. 14801, Colorado Revised Statutes, 1980 Repl. Vol., as amended, is repealed as follows:
14801. Designation of party
candidates by petition. (1) Candidates
for political party nominations may be placed on the primary election
ballot by petition. Every petition to nominate candidates for
a primary election shall state the name of the office for which
the person is a candidate and the candidate's name and address
and shall designate in not more than three words the name of the
political party which the candidate represents. No petition shall
contain the name of more than one person for the same office.
(2) The signature requirements
for the petition are as follows:
(a) Every petition in the case
of a candidate for any county office shall be signed by eligible
electors resident within the county commissioner district or political
subdivision for which the officer is to be elected. The petition
shall require signers equal in number to twenty percent of the
votes cast in the political subdivision at the primary election
for the political party's candidate for the office for which the
petition is being circulated, or if there was no primary election,
at the last preceding general election for which there was a candidate
for the office.
(b) Every petition in the case
of a candidate for member of the general assembly, district attorney,
or any district office greater than a county office shall be signed
by eligible electors resident within the district for which the
officer is to be elected. The petition shall require the lesser
of one thousand signers or signers equal to thirty percent of
the votes cast in the district at the primary election for the
political party's candidate for the office for which the petition
is being circulated, or if there was no primary election, at the
last preceding general election for which there was a candidate
for the office.
(c) Every petition in the case
of a candidate for an office to be filled by vote of the electors
of the entire state shall be signed by eligible electors in a
number equal to at least two percent of the votes cast in the
congressional district at the most recent general election for
the political party's candidate for the office for which the petition
is being circulated.
(d) (Deleted by amendment, L.
93, p. 1405, 29, effective July 1, 1993.)
(3) No person shall be placed
in nomination by petition on behalf of any political party unless
the person has been affiliated with the political party for at
least twelve months prior to the date of filing the petition,
as shown by the registration books of the county clerk and recorder.
(4) No person who attempted and
failed to receive at least ten percent of the votes for the nomination
of a political party assembly for a particular office shall be
placed in nomination by petition on behalf of the political party
for the same office.
(5) Party petitions shall not
be circulated nor any signatures be obtained prior to the first
Monday in April. Petitions shall be filed no later than the sixtysixth
day before the primary election.
SECTION 8. 14802 (1) (g), Colorado Revised Statutes, 1980 Repl. Vol., as amended, is amended to read:
14802. Petitions for nominating unaffiliated candidates for a partisan office. (1) Candidates for partisan public offices to be filled at a general or congressional vacancy election who do not wish to affiliate with a political party may be nominated, other than by a primary election or a convention, in the following manner:
(g) (I) EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN SUBPARAGRAPHS
(II) AND (III) OF THIS PARAGRAPH (g), no person shall be placed
in nomination by petition unless the person is an eligible elector
of the political subdivision or district in which the officer
is to be elected and unless the person was registered as unaffiliated,
as shown on the books of the county clerk and recorder, for at
least twelve months prior to the last date the petition may be
filed. except that,
(II) If such nomination is for a nonpartisan election, the person shall be an eligible elector of the political subdivision or district and be a registered elector, as shown on the books of the county clerk and recorder, on the date of the earliest signature on the petition.
(III) A PERSON WHO ATTEMPTED AND FAILED TO RECEIVE AT LEAST THIRTY PERCENT OF THE VOTES FOR THE NOMINATION OF A POLITICAL PARTY ASSEMBLY FOR A PARTICULAR OFFICE MAY BE PLACED IN NOMINATION BY PETITION IF SUCH PERSON IS AN ELIGIBLE ELECTOR OF THE POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OR DISTRICT IN WHICH THE OFFICER IS TO BE ELECTED AND HAS WITHDRAWN HIS OR HER PARTY AFFILIATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 12219 AFTER SUCH ASSEMBLY AND PRIOR TO THE DATE OF THE EARLIEST SIGNATURE ON THE PETITION.
SECTION 9. 14904 (2), Colorado Revised Statutes, 1980 Repl. Vol., as amended, is repealed as follows:
14904. Signatures on the
petitions. (2) For
partisan petitions, each signer shall be affiliated with the political
party named in the petition and shall state the following to the
circulator: That the signer has been affiliated with the political
party named in the petition for at least two months as shown on
the registration books of the county clerk and recorder; that
the signer intends to vote for the candidate at the ensuing primary
election; and that the signer has not signed any other petition
for any other candidate for the same office.
SECTION 10. 14905 (1), Colorado Revised Statutes, 1980 Repl. Vol., as amended, is amended to read:
14905. Circulators.
(1) No eligible elector shall be eligible to circulate
any petition unless the elector is eligible to vote in the political
subdivision in which the petition is being circulated. and,
for partisan candidates, has been affiliated with the political
party mentioned in the petition for at least two months prior
to the date of filing the petition, as shown by the registration
books of the county clerk and recorder.
SECTION 11. 141002 (7) (a) and (7) (b), Colorado Revised Statutes, 1980 Repl. Vol., as amended, are amended to read:
141002. Vacancies in designation or nomination. (7) Any vacancy in a statewide or county office, in the office of district attorney, or in the office of a state senator occurring during a term of office shall be filled at the next general election with nomination or designation by the political party as follows:
(a) If the vacancy occurs prior to the
political party assembly, the designated election official shall
notify the chairperson of each major political party that the
office will be on the ballot for the next primary election, and
candidates for the office shall be designated as provided in section
14601. or 14603.
(b) If the vacancy occurs after the political
party assembly and more than fiftyfive days before the primary
election, the designated election official shall add the office
to the notice of election and notify the chairperson of each major
political party that the office will be on the ballot for the
next primary election. Candidates for the office shall be designated
as provided in section 14603
or by the respective party central
committee vacancy committee for the state, county, judicial district,
or state senate district.
SECTION 12. 17201 (5), Colorado Revised Statutes, 1980 Repl. Vol., as amended, is amended to read:
17201. Voting at primary
election. (5) Instead of voting
for a candidate whose name is printed on the party ballot, an
elector may cast a writein vote for any eligible candidate
who is a member of the political party and who has filed an affidavit
of intent of writein candidacy pursuant to section 141101.
When no candidate has been designated
by an assembly or by petition, a writein candidate for nomination
by any political party must receive at least the number of votes
at any primary election that is required by section 14801
(2) to become designated as a candidate by petition.
SECTION 13. 145103 (12), Colorado Revised Statutes, 1980 Repl. Vol., is amended to read:
145103. Definitions.
As used in this article: (12) "Political Party"
means any group of registered electors who, by petition
or assembly, nominate candidates
for the official general election ballot. "Political party"
includes affiliated party organizations at the state, county,
and election district levels and all such affiliates are considered
to be a single entity for purposes of this article.
SECTION 14. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.