2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 1 - ELECTIONS (§§ 1-1-101 — 1-46-106) › GENERAL, PRIMARY, RECALL, AND CONGRESSIONAL VACANCY ELECTIONS (§§ 1-1-101 — 1-17-101) › Article 4 - ELECTIONS - ACCESS TO BALLOT BY CANDIDATES (§§ 1-4-101 — 1-4-1408) › Part 9 - PETITIONS FOR CANDIDACY (§§ 1-4-901 — 1-4-913) › Section 1-4-905 - Circulators - requirements - affidavits - notarization - training

(1)
A person shall not circulate a petition to nominate a candidate unless the person is a citizen of the United States and at least eighteen years of age.
(2)
(a)
Each petition section must have attached a signed, notarized, and dated affidavit executed by the person who circulated the petition section, which must include: The affiant's printed name, the address at which the affiant resides, including the street name and number, the city or town, the county, and the date of signature; a statement that the affiant has read and understands the laws governing the circulation of petitions; a statement that the affiant was a citizen of the United States and at least eighteen years of age at the time the section of the petition was circulated and signed by the listed electors; a statement that the affiant circulated the section of the petition; a statement that each signature on the petition section was affixed in the affiant's presence and is the signature of the person whose name it purports to be; a statement that to the best of the affiant's knowledge and belief each of the persons signing the petition section was, at the time of signing, an eligible elector; a statement that the affiant has not paid or will not in the future pay and that the affiant believes that no other person has paid or will pay, directly or indirectly, any money or other thing of value to any signer for the purpose of inducing or causing the signer to sign the petition; a statement that the affiant understands that the affiant can be prosecuted for violating the law governing the circulation of petitions, including the requirement that the affiant truthfully completed the affidavit and that each signature thereon was affixed in the affiant's presence; and a statement that the affiant understands that failing to make himself or herself available to be deposed and to provide testimony in the event of a protest shall invalidate the petition section if it is challenged on the grounds of circulator fraud.
(b)
(I)
A notary public shall not notarize an affidavit required under subsection (2)(a) of this section unless:
(A)
The circulator is in the physical presence of the notary public; and
(B)
The circulator has dated the affidavit and fully and accurately completed all of the personal information on the affidavit required by subsection (2)(a) of this section.
(II)
An affidavit that is notarized in violation of any provision of subsection (2)(b)(I) of this section is invalid.
(III)
If the date signed by a circulator on an affidavit required under subsection (2)(a) of this section is different from the date signed by the notary public, the affidavit is invalid. If a notary public notarizes an affidavit that has not been dated by the circulator, the notarization date does not cure the circulator's failure to date the affidavit and the affidavit is invalid.
(3)
The designated election official shall not accept for filing any section of a petition which does not have attached to it the notarized affidavit required by this section. Any signature added to a section of a petition after the affidavit has been executed is invalid.
(4)
(a)
As part of any court proceeding or hearing conducted by the secretary of state or designated election official related to a protest of all or part of a petition section, the circulator of such petition section shall be required to make himself or herself available to be deposed and to testify in person, by telephone, or by any other means permitted under the Colorado rules of civil procedure. Except as set forth in subsection (4)(b) of this section, the petition section that is the subject of the protest shall be invalid if a circulator fails to comply with the requirement set forth in this subsection (4)(a) for any protest that includes an allegation of circulator fraud that is pled with particularity regarding:
(I)
Forgery of an eligible elector's signature;
(II)
Circulation of a petition section, in whole or part, by anyone other than the person who signs the affidavit attached to the petition section;
(III)
Use of a false circulator name or address in the affidavit; or
(IV)
Payment of money or other things of value to any person for the purpose of inducing the person to sign the petition.
(b)
Upon the finding by a district court, the secretary of state, or the designated election official that the circulator of a petition section is unable to be deposed or to testify at trial or a hearing conducted by the secretary of state or designated election official because the circulator has died, become mentally incompetent, or become medically incapacitated and physically unable to testify by any means whatsoever, the provisions of subsection (4)(a) of this section do not apply to invalidate a petition section circulated by the circulator.
(5)
A candidate or candidate committee shall maintain a list of the names and addresses of all circulators who circulated petition sections on behalf of the candidate, the notaries public who notarized petition sections on behalf of the candidate, and the petition section numbers that each circulator circulated and that each notary public notarized. A copy of the list shall be filed with the secretary of state or designated election official along with the petition. If a copy of the list is not filed, the secretary of state or designated election official shall prepare the list and charge the proponents a fee to cover the actual cost of the preparation. Once filed or prepared by the secretary of state or designated election official, the list is a public record for purposes of article
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(6)
(a)
A circulator who is not to be paid for circulating a petition shall display an identification badge that includes the words "VOLUNTEER CIRCULATOR" in bold-faced type that is clearly legible.
(b)
A circulator who is to be paid for circulating a petition shall display an identification badge that includes the words "PAID CIRCULATOR" in bold-faced type that is clearly legible and the name and telephone number of the individual employing the circulator.
(7)
The secretary of state shall develop circulator training programs for paid and volunteer circulators and shall offer the training programs in the most cost-effective manner available. A candidate, committee, or petition entity shall inform paid and volunteer circulators of the availability of these training programs as one manner of complying with the requirement set forth in the circulator's affidavit that a circulator read and understand the laws pertaining to petition circulation.
Amended by 2021 Ch. 282, § 21, eff. 6/21/2021.
Amended by 2019 Ch. 326, § 21, eff. 8/2/2019.
Amended by 2016 Ch. 173, § 33, eff. 5/18/2016.
L. 92: Entire part R&RE, p. 689, § 7, effective 1/1/1993. L. 98: (1) amended, p. 634, § 7, effective May 6. L. 2001: (1) amended, p. 1002, § 5, effective August 8. L. 2007: (1) and (2) amended, p. 1971, § 9, effective August 3. L. 2016: (1) amended, (SB 16-142), ch. 577, p. 577, § 33, effective May 18. L. 2019: (1) and (2) amended and (4), (5), (6), and (7) added, (HB 19-1278), ch. 3013, p. 3013, § 21, effective August 2.
(1) This section is similar to former § 1-4-603 (8) as it existed prior to 1992.
(2) 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.
For the short title ("Colorado Votes Act") in HB 19-1278, see section 1 of chapter 326, Session Laws of Colorado 2019.