CO Code § 1-40-108 (2021)
2021 Colorado Code|Title 1 - Elections|Article 40 - Initiative and Referendum|§ 1-40-108. Petition - Time of Filing

  No petition for any ballot issue is of any effect unless filed with the secretary of state within six months from the date that the titles and submission clause have been fixed and determined pursuant to the provisions of sections 1-40-106 and 1-40-107 and unless filed with the secretary of state no later than three months before the election at which it is to be voted upon. A petition for a ballot issue for the election to be held in November of odd-numbered years must be filed with the secretary of state no later than three months before such odd-year election. All filings under this section must be made by the close of business on the day of filing.    (Deleted by amendment,L. 95, p. 433, § 6, effective May 8, 1995.)     History. Source: L. 93: Entire article amended with relocations, p. 682, § 1, effective May 4; (1) amended, p. 1437, § 127, effective July 1. L. 95: Entire section amended, p. 433, § 6, effective May 8. L. 2000: (1) amended, p. 1622, § 6, effective August 2. L. 2009: (1) amended, (HB 09-1326), ch. 258, p. 1171, § 6, effective May 15. L. 2021: (1) amended, (SB 21-250), ch. 282, p. 1668, § 70, effective June 21.    Editor's note:    This section is similar to former § 1-40-104 as it existed prior to 1993, and the former § 1-40-108 was relocated to § 1-40-115.    Section 85 of chapter 282 (SB 21-250), Session Laws of Colorado 2021, provides that the act changing this section applies to elections conducted on or after June 21, 2021.     Cross references:   For computation of time under the “Uniform Election Code of 1992”, articles 1 to 13 of this title, see § 1-1-106 ; for computation of time under the statutes generally, see § 2-4-108 .   ANNOTATION   Law reviews. For comment, “Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation, Inc.: The Struggle to Establish a Consistent Standard of Review in Ballot Access Cases Continues”, see 77 Den. U. L. Rev. 197 (1999).   Annotator's note. The following annotations include cases decided under former provisions similar to this section.   The requirement that petitions be circulated within a six-month period is not an unreasonable burden on the rights of either the proponents of the petition or of the voting public. Am. Constitutional Law Found., Inc. v. Meyer, 870 F. Supp. 995 (D. Colo. 1994 ), aff'd, 120 F.3d 1092 (10th Cir. 1997), aff'd on other grounds, 525 U.S. 182, 119 S. Ct. 636, 142 L. Ed. 2d 599 (1999).   The six-month deadline set forth in subsection (1) is a reasonable, nondiscriminatory ballot access regulation; it does not offend the first and fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution. The requirement preserves the integrity of the state's elections, maintains an orderly ballot, and limits voter confusion. The requirement advances those interests by establishing a reasonable window in which proponents must demonstrate support for their causes. Am. Constitutional Law Found., Inc. v. Meyer, 120 F.3d 1092 (10th Cir. 1997), aff'd on other grounds, 525 U.S. 182, 119 S. Ct. 636, 142 L. Ed. 2d 599 (1999).   Petition for initiative may be filed or circulated anytime after previous general election. Matter of Title, Ballot Title, Etc., 850 P.2d 144 (Colo. 1993) (decided under former § 1-40-104 prior to 1993 amendments).   Applied in Spelts v. Klausing, 649 P.2d 303 (Colo. 1982).