2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 32 - SPECIAL DISTRICTS (§§ 32-1-101 — 32-22-117) › SPECIAL DISTRICT ACT (§§ 32-1-101 — 32-1-1807) › Article 1 - SPECIAL DISTRICT PROVISIONS (§§ 32-1-101 — 32-1-1807) › Part 9 - DIRECTORS - ORGANIZATION OF BOARD (§§ 32-1-901 — 32-1-915) › Section 32-1-910 - Petition in sections - signing - affidavit - review - tampering with petition

(1)
A recall petition may be circulated and signed in sections, but each section must contain a full and accurate copy of the title and text of the petition as described in section
32-1-909 (4)
, and each signature page of each section must include the language set forth in section
32-1-909 (5) and (6)
.
(2)
(a)
All signed recall petitions must be filed with the designated election official within sixty days from the date on which the designated election official approves the petition as to form pursuant to section
32-1-909 (3)
.
(b)
A recall petition shall be signed only by eligible electors of the special district using their own signatures, after which each such elector shall print or, if such elector is unable to do so, shall cause to be printed, such elector's legal name, the residence address of such elector, including the street and number, if any, and the date of signing of the petition.
(c)
To each petition or petition section must be attached a signed, notarized, and dated affidavit of the person who circulated the petition stating the affiant's address, that the affiant is eighteen years of age or older, that the affiant circulated the petition, that the affiant made no misrepresentation of the purpose of such petition to any signer of the petition, that each signature on the petition was affixed in the affiant's presence, that each signature on the petition is the signature of the person whose name it purports to be, that to the best of the knowledge and belief of the affiant each person signing said petition was at the time of signing an eligible elector of the special district, and that the affiant neither has paid nor shall pay and that the affiant believes that no other person has so paid or shall pay, directly or indirectly, any money or other thing of value to any signer for the purpose of inducing or causing such signer to sign such petition.
(d)
Any disassembly of a petition or petition section that separates the affidavit from the signatures renders the signatures on such petition or petition section invalid and of no force and effect.
(3)
(a)
Promptly after the petition has been filed, the designated election official shall review all petition information and verify the information against the county clerk and recorder's registration records and the county assessor's records to determine whether it meets the requirements of section
32-1-906 (1)
and subsections (2)(a), (2)(b), and (2)(c) of this section.
(b)
The designated election official shall issue a written determination that a recall petition is sufficient or not sufficient by the close of the fifth business day after such petition is filed, unless a protest has been filed pursuant to subsection (3)(d) of this section prior to that date. On the day the designated official issues such written determination, he or she shall mail or transmit electronically a copy of the determination to the director sought to be recalled, the board of directors of the special district, and the committee as defined in section
32-1-909 (4)(a)
. The designated election official shall make a copy of the petition available to the director sought to be recalled.
(c)
The designated election official shall deem the petition sufficient if he or she determines that it was timely filed, has the required attached circulator affidavits, and was signed by the requisite number of eligible electors of the special district within sixty days following the date upon which the designated election official approved the form of the petition. The designated election official shall not remove the signature of an eligible elector from the petition after such petition is filed. If the designated election official determines that a petition or petition section is not sufficient, the designated election official shall identify those portions of the petition that are not sufficient and the reasons for such determination in the written determination required in subsection (3)(b) of this section.
(d)
(I)
An eligible elector of the district may file a protest of a recall petition within fifteen days after such petition is filed. The protest must be in writing and signed under oath. The protest must be filed in the office of the designated election official and must set forth specifically the grounds of the protest. The grounds for a protest of a recall petition include, but are not limited to, the failure of any portion of a petition, petition section, circulator affidavit, or circulator to meet the requirements of this section or section
32-1-909
.
(II)
Upon receiving a protest of a recall petition, the designated election official shall promptly mail a copy of the protest, together with a notice fixing a time for hearing the protest on a date not less than five nor more than ten business days after such notice is mailed, to the director sought to be recalled, the committee as defined in section
32-1-909 (4)(a)
, and the board of directors of the special district.
(III)
If the grounds of a protest include the failure of the petition to meet the signature requirements of section
32-1-906 (1)
or subsection (2)(b) of this section, the designated election official shall provide the notice of the hearing to the county clerk and recorder and the county assessor of each county, any portion of the land area of which is located within the territorial boundaries of the special district. At least one business day before the hearing, the county clerk and recorder of each such county shall provide to the designated election official a registration list, as defined in section
1-13.5-103 (10)
, for the special district. At least one business day before the hearing, the county assessor of each such county shall provide to the designated election official a property owners list, as defined in section
1-13.5-103 (9)
, for the special district. The special district shall pay the costs of producing the registration lists and property owners lists. The designated election official shall use the lists prepared in accordance with this subsection (3)(d)(III) in determining whether the petition is sufficient.
(IV)
The designated election official shall serve as the hearing officer. All testimony in the hearing must be given under oath. The hearing officer has the power to issue subpoenas and compel the attendance of witnesses. The hearing must be summary and not subject to delay and must be concluded within forty days after the petition is filed. No later than five business days after the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a written determination of whether the petition is sufficient or not sufficient. If the hearing officer determines that a petition is not sufficient, the hearing officer shall identify those portions of the petition that are not sufficient and the reasons for the insufficiency. The designated election official shall certify the result of the hearing to the committee as defined in section
32-1-909 (4)(a)
, the director sought to be recalled, and the board of directors of the special district.
(e)
If the designated election official determines that a petition is not sufficient, a majority of the committee as defined in section
32-1-909 (4)(a)
may withdraw the petition and amend it and refile it; except that a petition withdrawn and refiled in accordance with this subsection (3)(e) shall not be withdrawn and refiled again. The committee may amend the petition by adding any required information relating to the signers or by attaching proper circulator affidavits. To be considered, the amended petition must be refiled with the designated election official in the same manner as the original petition within fifteen days after the designated election official issues the determination that the petition is insufficient. The designated election official shall issue a written determination that an amended and refiled petition is sufficient or not sufficient within five business days after the petition is refiled. An eligible elector may file a protest of an amended and refiled petition. A protest of an amended and refiled petition is subject to the provisions of subsection (3)(d) of this section; except that the protest must be filed within five business days of the date on which the amended petition was refiled.
(f)
A determination that a recall petition is sufficient or not sufficient is subject to review by the court as defined in section
32-1-103 (2)
upon the written request of the director sought to be recalled, the director's representative, or a majority of the committee as defined in section
32-1-909 (4)(a)
; except that the statement of the grounds on which the recall is sought provided pursuant to section
32-1-909 (4)(c)
is not subject to such review. A request for judicial review must be filed within five business days after the designated election official issues the determination.
(4)
(a)
(I)
When a recall petition is determined sufficient, the designated election official shall submit the petition, together with a certificate of its sufficiency, to the board of directors of the special district at a regular or special meeting of such board.
(II)
If no request for judicial review is filed, the board shall hold the regular or special meeting within thirty days following the expiration of the period within which a protest may be filed, or within thirty days of the date the written determination of sufficiency is issued, whichever is later. If a request for judicial review is filed, the board shall hold the regular or special meeting within thirty days following the issuance of a final order finding the petition sufficient.
(III)
At the meeting, the board shall order and fix a date for the recall election to be held not less than seventy-five days nor more than ninety days from the date of the meeting. The board shall determine whether voting in the recall election is to take place at the polling place or by mail ballot.
(b)
Notwithstanding subsection (4)(a)(III) of this section, if a regular special district election is to be held within one hundred eighty days after the date the board orders the recall election, the recall election must be held as part of such regular special district election; except that:
(I)
If the director sought to be recalled is seeking reelection at the regular special district election, only the question of such director's reelection appears on the ballot.
(II)
If a successor to the director sought to be recalled is to be selected at the regular special district election and the director sought to be recalled is not seeking reelection, only the question of the selection of the successor to the director appears on the ballot.
(5)
A recall election shall be conducted and the result of such election declared in accordance with article
13.5
of title
1
, unless such recall election is conducted as part of a coordinated election as provided in subsection (6) of this section.
(6)
A recall election may be conducted as part of a coordinated election only if:
(a)
The content of the recall election ballot is finally determined by the date for certification of the ballot content for the coordinated election under section
1-5-203 (3)
; and
(b)
The county clerk and recorder agrees to conduct the recall election as part of the coordinated election.
(7)
A person commits a class 2 misdemeanor if such person willfully:
(a)
Destroys, defaces, mutilates, or suppresses a recall petition or petition section;
(b)
Fails to file or delays the delivery of a recall petition or petition section;
(c)
Conceals or removes a recall petition or petition section from the possession of a person authorized by law to have the custody thereof; or
(d)
Aides, counsels, procures, or assists another person in doing any of said acts.
Amended by 2021 Ch. 462, § 544, eff. 3/1/2022.
Added by 2018 Ch. 200, § 3, eff. 5/4/2018.
L. 2018: Entire section added, (HB 18-1268), ch. 1299, p. 1299, § 3, effective May 4. L. 2021: IP(7) amended, (SB 21-271), ch. 3257, p. 3257, § 544, effective 3/1/2022.
Section 803(2) of chapter 462 (SB 21-271), Session Laws of Colorado 2021, provides that the act changing this section applies to offenses committed on or after March 1, 2022.
2021 Ch. 462, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).