Opinion ID: 1444177
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Initiative Process

Text: We begin our analysis with relevant background regarding the initiative process. The process is governed by Colorado Constitution article V, section 1 and sections 1-40-101 to 134, 1 C.R.S. (1998). Initiative proponents circulate copies of an initiative petition in order to accumulate the constitutionally required number of signatures from registered electors. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(2); § 1-40-111(1). In order to qualify for the ballot, an initiative must have signatures from registered electors totaling at least five percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for the office of secretary of state at the previous general election. Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(2). A petition required 54,242 signatures to qualify for the ballot in the 1998 general election. The Secretary is required to verify the signatures on the initiative petition. See § 1-40-116(2). The Secretary conducts the first step of the verification process through random sampling. See § 1-40-116(4). If the random sample indicates that the petition as a whole contains less than 90% of the required number of valid signatures, then the statute deems the petition to be not sufficient. See id. If the random sample indicates that the number of valid signatures equals or exceeds 110% of the number required for certification, then the statute deems the petition sufficient. See id. If the random sample indicates that the number of valid signatures is greater than 90% but less than 110% of the requisite number, then the Secretary is required to order the examination and verification of each signature filed. Id. If this line-by-line count indicates that the petition contains the constitutionally required number of signatures, 54,242 for the 1998 election, the initiative must be submitted to the people for adoption or rejection at the polls. See Colo. Const. art V, § 1(7). The Secretary's authority to conduct a line-by-line examination is at issue in this case. Article V, section 1 of the Colorado Constitution and sections 1-40-116 to -119, 1 C.R.S. (1998) govern the timing of the initiative process. Article V, section 1(2) of the constitution requires that an initiative petition must be filed with the Secretary at least three months before the general election on which it is to be voted upon. Once a petition has been filed, the Secretary is required to issue a determination of sufficiency of the signatures within thirty days. See § 1-40-118(1). If the Secretary finds the number of signatures is insufficient, the proponents have fifteen days to cure the insufficiency provided the new signatures are submitted at least three months before the election. See § 1-40-117(3)(b). The cure option was not available to the initiative proponents in this case because they could not meet the three-months deadline. A statutory remedy is provided for the Secretary's failure to act within thirty days: If the secretary of state fails to issue a statement within thirty calendar days, the petition shall be deemed sufficient. § 1-40-118(1). If the Secretary issues a statement of sufficiency, any registered elector may file a protest within thirty days after the Secretary issues the statement. See id. Nothing in the statute expressly addresses the situation now before us. The Secretary admittedly made mistakes and excluded some valid signatures when she randomly sampled the signatures. However, when the errors were corrected, the sample still contained insufficient signatures to automatically qualify the initiative for the ballot under section 1-40-116(4). Rather, the corrected random sample came within the range (more than 90% but less than 110%) of section 1-40-116(4) that requires a line-by-line count of all signatures. The protest section of the statute, section 1-40-118(2), allows any registered elector to challenge defects in the Secretary's random sample, but the section is silent as to the remedy available under the circumstances of this case. For guidance in construing the statutes, we turn to the constitution and basic principles of statutory construction.