§ C.R.S. § 1-4-909Protest of designations and nominations

(1) A petition or certificate of
designation or nomination that has been verified and appears to be sufficient under this code
shall be deemed valid unless a petition for a review of the validity of the petition pursuant to
section 1-1-113 is filed with the district court within five days after the election official's
statement of sufficiency is issued or, in the case of a certificate of designation, within five days
after the certificate of designation is filed with the designated election official.
(1.5) If the election official determines that a petition is insufficient, the candidate
named in the petition may petition the district court within five days for a review of the
determination pursuant to section 1-1-113.
Colorado Revised Statutes 2024
Page 140 of 561
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(1.7) (a) If a candidate submits a petition to the secretary of state at least fourteen days
prior to the deadline to submit the petition and the secretary of state determines that the petition
is insufficient, then the petition is insufficient unless the candidate files a protest in writing under
oath in the office of the secretary of state within seven days after the secretary of state
determined the petition was insufficient.
(b) In the protest, the candidate must identify with particularity the signature lines that
the candidate believes the secretary of state should have accepted but that the secretary of state
rejected. A candidate may not include in the protest signature lines that the secretary of state
rejected solely for a signature discrepancy under section 1-4-908 (1.5) that the candidate did not
cure.
(c) After a candidate files a protest, the secretary of state may convene a hearing, which
must be held before the secretary of state or a designee of the secretary of state is appointed as
the hearing officer. The secretary of state shall provide notice of the date and time of the hearing
to the candidate by e-mail or mail no later than five days prior to the hearing. The testimony in
every hearing must be under oath. The hearing must be summary and not subject to delay.
(d) The candidate filing a protest has the burden of sustaining the protest by a
preponderance of the evidence. In determining whether any signature line should be accepted or
rejected, the secretary of state may consider whether the signature on the petition matches the
signature of the eligible elector identified by the candidate and whether the signer otherwise
substantially complied with the requirements of this section when signing the petition. The
secretary of state shall decide the protest no later than seven days before the deadline to certify
ballot content pursuant to section 1-5-203 (1) for candidates to be placed on the primary election
ballot and no later than fourteen days before the deadline to certify ballot content pursuant to
section 1-5-203 (1) for any other candidate in any other election.
(e) The decision upon matters of substance is open to review, if application is made
within five days, in the manner provided in section 1-1-113, to the district court. The remedy in
all cases must be summary, and the decision of any court having jurisdiction is final and not
subject to review by any other court; except that the supreme court, in the exercise of its
discretion, may review any judicial proceeding as provided in section 1-1-113.
(2) This section does not apply to any nomination made at a primary election.