§ C.R.S. § 1-4-1204Names on ballots

(1) Not later than sixty days before the presidential
primary election, the secretary of state shall certify the names and party affiliations of the
candidates to be placed on any presidential primary election ballots. The only candidates whose
names shall be placed on ballots for the election shall be those candidates who:
(a) Repealed.
(b) Are seeking the nomination for president of a political party as a bona fide candidate
for president of the United States pursuant to political party rules and are affiliated with a major
political party that received at least twenty percent of the votes cast by eligible electors in
Colorado at the last presidential election; and
(c) Have submitted to the secretary, not later than eighty-five days before the date of the
presidential primary election, a notarized candidate's statement of intent together with either a
nonrefundable filing fee of five hundred dollars or a petition signed by at least five thousand
eligible electors affiliated with the candidate's political party who reside in the state. Candidate
petitions must meet the requirements of parts 8 and 9 of this article 4, as applicable.
(1.5) No later than the sixty-fifth day before the presidential primary election, a person
whose name has been qualified to be placed on the ballot may file with the secretary of state an
affidavit stating that the person is not a candidate for the office of the president of the United
States and requesting that the person's name not be included in the list of names certified by the
secretary of state in accordance with subsection (1) of this section. The secretary of state shall
not include in the list the name of a person who timely files an affidavit.
Colorado Revised Statutes 2024
Page 156 of 561
Uncertified Printout
(2) The names of candidates appearing on any presidential primary ballot must be in an
order determined by lot. The secretary of state shall determine the method of drawing lots.
(3) Except as otherwise prohibited by political party rules, the state chairperson of a
political party may request the secretary to provide a place on the primary ballot for electors who
have no presidential candidate preference to register a vote to send a noncommitted delegate to
the political party's national convention. To be valid, this request must be received by the
secretary of state no later than seventy days before the presidential primary election.
(4) Any challenge to the listing of any candidate on the presidential primary election
ballot must be made in writing and filed with the district court in accordance with section 1-1113 (1) no later than five days after the filing deadline for candidates. Any such challenge must
provide notice in a summary manner of an alleged impropriety that gives rise to the complaint.
No later than five days after the challenge is filed, a hearing must be held at which time the
district court shall hear the challenge and assess the validity of all alleged improprieties. The
district court shall issue findings of fact and conclusions of law no later than forty-eight hours
after the hearing. The party filing the challenge has the burden to sustain the challenge by a
preponderance of the evidence. Any order entered by the district court may be reviewed in
accordance with section 1-1-113 (3).