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Colorado > Colorado Electoral Code > Recounts

1-10.5-109. Challenge of recount

Overview of Statute

Interested parties who request a recount, or any other party who reasonably believes that a recount is being conducted in an unfair and partial manner, may request a court order to temporarily stop the recount until the secretary of state can review the pertinent election records.

The state general fund will pay all expenses incurred by the secretary of state while conducting such a recount, and the county or political subdivision conducting the original recount will pay all expenses incurred prior to the work performed by the secretary of state.

Statute

(1) (a) Any interested party that requested a recount of a county, state, national, or district office of state concern or any party to such recount that has reasonable grounds to believe that the recount is not being conducted in a fair, impartial, and uniform manner may apply to the district court of the city and county of Denver for an order requiring the county clerk and recorder to stop the recount and to give the secretary of state access to all pertinent election records used in conducting the recount, and requiring the secretary of state to conduct the recount. The county clerk and recorder shall be an official observer during any recount conducted by the secretary of state.

(b) Any interested party that requested a recount of any other local office, ballot question, or ballot issue or any party to such recount that has reasonable grounds to believe that the designated election official is not conducting the recount in a fair, impartial, and uniform manner may apply to the district court for the political subdivision for an order requiring the designated election official to stop the recount and to give the appropriate official who will take over conducting the recount access to all pertinent election records, and requiring the appropriate official to conduct the recount. If the county clerk and recorder is not the designated election official, then the county clerk and recorder is the appropriate official to conduct the recount. If the county clerk and recorder is the designated election official, then the secretary of state is the appropriate official to conduct the recount. The designated election official shall be an official observer during any recount conducted pursuant to this subsection (1).

(2) All expenses incurred by the secretary of state in conducting a recount pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall be paid from the state general fund. Expenses incurred prior to a court order requiring the secretary of state to conduct the recount shall be paid by the county or political subdivision conducting the recount.

 

Source: L. 99: Entire article added with relocations, p. 488, § 13, effective July 1.

 

Editor’s note: This section was similar to former § 1-10-306 as it existed prior to 1999.

Annotation: June 13, 2016 8:12 pm

The rules define “Official Observer” as either an observer appointed by the Secretary of State or an observer appointed by the federal government and approved by the Secretary of State. Official Observers may be present in all phases of the election process and perform duties as may be assigned by the Secretary of State, but are subject to Rules and regulations as prescribed by the Secretary of State.

Definition [Ballot issue]

A nonrecall,  citizen-initiated  petition  or legislatively-referred
measure which is authorized by the state constitution, including a question as defined in  sections 1-41-102 (3) and 1-41-103 (3), enacted in Senate Bill 93-98.

Definition [Political subdivision]

A governing subdivision of the state, including counties, municipalities, school districts, and special districts. C.R.S. § 1-7.5-103.

Definition [Designated election official]

The secretary of state, a county clerk and recorder, or other election official as provided by article XXI of the state constitution. C.R.S. § 1-12-100.5.

Definition [State]

A state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. C.R.S. § 1-8.3-102.

Definition [Ballot]

(a) A federal write-in absentee ballot;

(b) A ballot specifically prepared or distributed for use by a covered voter in accordance with this article; or

(c) A ballot cast by a covered voter in accordance with this article.

(2) “Covered voter” means:

(a) A uniformed-service voter defined in paragraph (a) of subsection (9) of this section who is a resident of this state but who is absent from this state by reason of active duty and who otherwise satisfies this state’s voter eligibility requirements;

(b) An overseas voter who, before leaving the United States, was last eligible to vote in this state and, except for a state residency requirement, otherwise satisfies this state’s voter eligibility requirements;

(c) An overseas voter who, before leaving the United States, would have been last eligible to vote in this state had the voter then been of voting age and, except for a state residency requirement, otherwise satisfies this state’s voter eligibility requirements; or

(d) An overseas voter who was born outside the United States, is not described in paragraph (b) or (c) of this subsection (2), and, except for a state residency requirement, otherwise satisfies this state’s voter eligibility requirements if the last place where a parent, legal guardian, spouse, or civil union partner of the voter was, or under this article would have been, eligible to vote before leaving the United States is within this state.

C.R.S. § 1-8.3-102.

Definition [Section]

A bound compilation of initiative forms approved by the secretary of state, which shall include pages that contain the warning required by section 1-40-110 (1), the ballot title, the abstract required by section 1-40-110 (3), and a copy of the proposed measure; succeeding pages that contain the warning, the ballot title, and ruled lines numbered consecutively for registered electors’ signatures; and a final page that contains the affidavit required by section 1-40-111 (2). Each section shall be consecutively prenumbered by the petitioner prior to circulation.

Definition [Election]

Any election under the “Uniform Election Code of 1992” or the “Colorado Municipal Election Code of 1965”, article 10 of title 31, C.R.S. C.R.S. § 1-7.5-103.

Definition [Secretary]

The Colorado secretary of state. C.R.S. § 1-1.5-102.

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