CO Code § 1-4-1002 (2021)
2021 Colorado Code|Title 1 - Elections|Article 4 - Elections - Access to Ballot by Candidates|Part 10 - Withdrawals and Disqualifications From, and Vacancies In, Nominations and Designations|§ 1-4-1002. Vacancies in Major Party Designation Up to the Sixty-Eighth Day Before Primary Election Day

  For the purposes of this section, a vacancy is caused by:   The declination, death, disqualification, or withdrawal of the person designated by a party assembly as a candidate for nomination; or    The failure of a party assembly to make designation of any candidate for nomination.    Repealed.       Any vacancy in a party designation occurring after the party assembly at which the designation was made and no later than sixty-eight days before the primary election may be filled by the party assembly vacancy committee of the district, county, or state, depending upon the office for which the vacancy in designation has occurred. The party assembly vacancy committee must be appointed by the party in accordance with party rules.      No vacancy committee called to fill a vacancy pursuant to this section may select a person to fill the vacancy at a meeting held for that purpose unless a written notice announcing the time and location of the vacancy committee meeting was mailed to each of the committee members within five calendar days of the chairperson of the central committee receiving notice of the vacancy. Mailing of the notice is effective when the notice is properly addressed and deposited in the United States mail, with first-class postage prepaid. In addition to this mailing, the chairperson of the central committee may also contact the committee members by electronic mail.      No vacancy committee meeting shall be held until a quorum is present consisting of not less than one-half of the voting membership of the vacancy committee. (b) (I) No vacancy committee meeting shall be held until a quorum is present consisting of not less than one-half of the voting membership of the vacancy committee.    The vacancy committee, by a majority vote of its members present and voting at a meeting called for that purpose, shall select a person who meets all of the requirements of candidacy as of the date of the appointment and who is affiliated with the same political party:   As shown in the statewide voter registration system as the candidate whose declination, death, disqualification, or withdrawal caused the vacancy; or    As the party assembly that failed to designate a candidate, as applicable.       No member of the vacancy committee may vote by proxy.    If the vacancy committee fails to timely certify a selection, the state chair of the party of the candidate whose declination, death, disqualification, or withdrawal caused the vacancy, within seven days, shall fill the vacancy by appointing a person who meets all of the requirements of candidacy as of the date of the appointment and who is affiliated with the same political party shown in the statewide voter registration system as the candidate whose declination, death, disqualification, or withdrawal caused the vacancy. The name of the person appointed by the state chair must be certified to the secretary of state.         The designation and acceptance of the person selected to fill the vacancy must be submitted to the designated election official no later than three days from either the date of the vacancy committee meeting or from the date of appointment by the state chair pursuant to subsection (3)(b)(IV) of this section, as applicable; except that such certification must in all cases be submitted no later than the sixty-fourth day before the date of the primary election. (c) (I) The designation and acceptance of the person selected to fill the vacancy must be submitted to the designated election official no later than three days from either the date of the vacancy committee meeting or from the date of appointment by the state chair pursuant to subsection (3)(b)(IV) of this section, as applicable; except that such certification must in all cases be submitted no later than the sixty-fourth day before the date of the primary election.    For purposes of this section, a vacancy is filled when the designated election official receives the certificate of nomination and the written acceptance of the replacement candidate.       If a person designated to fill a vacancy pursuant to this section decides not to fill a vacancy, he or she shall in like manner file a certificate setting forth the occurrence of the vacancy, stating that he or she does not intend to fill the vacancy.       When a vacancy occurs and is filled pursuant to this section, the designated election official shall certify the name of the replacement candidate to the ballot.    Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary, if a political party has established a rule regarding the length of affiliation required for a candidate, and a vacancy in that office occurs, then the party rule applies.    Repealed.     History. Source: L. 2017: Entire part amended with relocated provisions, (SB 17-209), ch. 234, p. 948, § 5, effective August 9. L. 2020: (1) amended and (6) added, (HB 20-1359), ch. 23, p. 86, § 7, effective March 16.    Editor's note:    Former subsection (2.3)(a) was amended by Proposition 108 in 2016. Those amendments were superseded by the amendment of this part 10 in SB 17-209, effective August 9, 2017. For the amendments to subsection (2.3)(a) in Proposition 108 in effect from December 27, 2016, to August 9, 2017, see section 6 on p. 2824, Session Laws of Colorado 2017.    Subsections (1)(c)(II) and (6)(b) provided for the repeal of subsections (1)(c) and (6), respectively, effective December 31, 2020. (SeeL. 2020, p. 86.)     ANNOTATION   Annotator's note. The following annotations include a case decided under former provisions similar to this section.   The “vacancy” section must be construed in the light of the two-pronged framework for the designation and nomination of candidates either by the party assembly or by petition. Anderson v. Mullaney, 166 Colo. 533 , 444 P.2d 878 (1968).   A vacancy comes into being when a party assembly fails to designate any candidate for nomination to a particular office. Anderson v. Mullaney, 166 Colo. 533 , 444 P.2d 878 (1968).   And such “vacancy” continues to exist until it is filled by the party central committee or the time for filing it expires by the term of the statute. Anderson v. Mullaney, 166 Colo. 533 , 444 P.2d 878 (1968).   The “vacancy” created by the party assembly's failure to designate a candidate for nomination may be filled by the subsequent action of the appropriate party central committee. Anderson v. Mullaney, 166 Colo. 533 , 444 P.2d 878 (1968).   This is true even though a candidate for party nomination has in the interim between the assembly and the action of the central committee been placed on the primary ballot by petition. Anderson v. Mullaney, 166 Colo. 533 , 444 P.2d 878 (1968).   8 Colo. Code Regs. 1505-1, § 10.7.5, of the secretary of state's rules regarding the treatment of votes cast for ineligible candidates conflicts with this section and is therefore void. Subsection (2.5)(a) of this section provides that, where a vacancy occurs less than eighteen days before an election due to a partisan candidate's disqualification, votes cast in that election for that disqualified candidate are to be counted and recorded. The rule contravenes subsection (2.5)(a) by directing that, where a designated election official has determined that a person appearing on the ballot is not qualified for office, any votes cast for that person are invalid and must not be counted. Because the rule conflicts with statute, it is therefore void. Hanlen v. Gessler, 2014 CO 24, 333 P.3d 41.