Colorado § 1-4-101 - Primary elections - when - nominations - expenses - legislative declaration.

§ 1-4-101. Primary elections - when - nominations - expenses - legislative declaration.

(1) Except as provided in section 1-4-104.5, a primary election shall be held on the last Tuesday in June of even-numbered years to nominate candidates of political parties to be voted for at the succeeding general election. Except as provided by section 1-4-1304 (1.5), only a major political party, as defined in section 1-1-104 (22), is entitled to nominate candidates in a primary election.

(2) (a) Each political party that is entitled to participate in the primary election must have a separate party ballot for use by electors affiliated with that political party. An elector is not required to vote in the same party primary as the elector voted in as part of a presidential primary election occurring in that same year, if such an election is held.

(b) The county clerk and recorder shall send to all active electors in the county who have not declared an affiliation a mailing that contains the ballots of all of the major political parties. In this mailing, the clerk shall also provide written instructions advising the elector of the manner in which the elector will be in compliance with the requirements of this code in selecting and casting the ballot of a major political party. An elector may cast the ballot of only one major political party. After selecting and casting a ballot of a single major political party, the elector shall return the ballot to the clerk. If an elector casts and returns to the clerk the ballot of more than one major political party, all such ballots returned will be rejected and will not be counted.

(c) The secretary of state may by rule adopt additional ballot requirements necessary to avoid voter confusion in voting in primary elections.

(d) The primary election of all political parties shall be held at the same time and shall be conducted by the same election officials.

(3) All nominations by major political parties for candidates for United States senator, representative in congress, all elective state, district, and county officers, and members of the general assembly shall be made by primary elections; except that, for general elections occurring after January 1, 2001, nominations by major political parties for candidates for lieutenant governor shall not be made by primary elections and shall be made pursuant to section 1-4-502 (3). Neither the secretary of state nor any county clerk and recorder shall place on the official general election ballot the name of any person as a candidate of any major political party who has not been nominated in accordance with the provisions of this article, or who has not been affiliated with the major political party for the period of time required by section 1-4-601, or who does not meet residency requirements for the office, if any. The information found on the voter registration record of the county of current or previous residence of the person seeking to be placed on the ballot is admissible as prima facie evidence of compliance with this article.

(4) Except as otherwise provided in this code, all primary elections shall be conducted in the same manner as general elections insofar as the general election provisions are applicable, and the election officers for primary elections have the same powers and shall perform the same duties as those provided by law for general elections.

(5) All expenses incurred in the preparation or conduct of the primary election shall be paid out of the treasury of the county or state, as the case may be, in the same manner as for general elections.

(6) (a) The general assembly finds and declares that, for this subsection (6), it intends that a general provision with a later effective date prevails over a specific provision with an earlier effective date.

(b) A designated election official may conduct an all-candidate primary election using an all-candidate primary ballot only after the requirements established in section 1-7-1002 (2.5) have been satisfied.

Source: L. 80: Entire article R&RE, p. 321, § 1, effective January 1, 1981. L. 81: (1) amended, p. 307, § 3, effective January 1, 1982. L. 83: (3) amended, p. 350, § 9, effective July 1. L. 85: (1) amended, p. 248, § 4, effective July 1. L. 86: (3) amended, p. 396, § 6, effective April 17. L. 88: (3) amended, p. 293, § 1, effective May 29. L. 89: (3) amended, p. 314, § 2, effective April 12. L. 91: (3) amended, p. 620, § 31, effective May 1. L. 92: Entire part amended, p. 672, § 4, effective January 1, 1993. L. 98: (1) to (3) amended, p. 256, § 4, effective April 13. L. 99: (3) amended, p. 159, § 7, effective August 4. L. 2000: (3) amended, p. 2027, § 1, effective August 2. L. 2003: (1) and (2) amended, p. 1309, § 4, effective April 22. L. 2009: (1) amended, (HB 09-1015), ch. 259, p. 1183, § 1, effective August 5. L. 2010: (3) amended, (HB 10-1271), ch. 324, p. 1501, § 1, effective May 27. L. 2011: (1) amended, (SB 11-189), ch. 243, p. 1062, § 3, effective May 27. L. 2013: (1) and (2) amended, (HB 13-1303), ch. 185, p. 703, § 28, effective May 10. Initiated 2016: (2) amended, Proposition 108, effective upon proclamation of the Governor, December 27, 2016. See L. 2017, p. 2822. L. 2017: IP(2) and (2)(a) amended, (SB 17-305), ch. 216, p. 841, § 2, effective August 9. L. 2023: (2)(b) amended, (SB 23-276), ch. 399, p. 2376, § 8, effective June 6. L. 2024: (6) added, (SB 24-210), ch. 468, p. 3265, § 53, effective March 1, 2026.

Editor's note: (1) This section is similar to former § 1-14-202 as it existed prior to 1980.

(2) This section was amended by initiative in 2016. The vote count on Proposition 108 at the general election held November 8, 2016, was as follows:

FOR: 1,398,577

AGAINST: 1,227,117

(3) Subsection (2), as amended by Proposition 108 and Senate Bill 17-305, was relettered on revision to conform to statutory format.

Cross references: (1) In 2013, subsections (1) and (2) were amended by the "Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act". For the short title and the legislative declaration, see sections 1 and 2 of chapter 185, Session Laws of Colorado 2013.

(2) For the declaration of the people of Colorado in Proposition 108, see section 1 on p. 2822, Session Laws of Colorado 2017.

ANNOTATION

Proposition 108, a voter-approved ballot initiative allowing voters not affiliated with a political party to vote in nonpresidential primary elections, does not impose a severe burden on political parties' freedom of association rights in violation of the first amendment to the United States Constitution. Colo. Republican Party v. Griswold, 715 F. Supp. 3d 1339 (D. Colo. 2024).

Nor does it infringe on a political party's freedom of speech rights under the first amendment by compelling speech where there was no evidence that the party was forced to lend its name to a candidate who does not reflect the views of a majority or even plurality of the party's members. Colo. Republican Party v. Griswold, 715 F. Supp. 3d 1339 (D. Colo. 2024).

Nor does it dilute the votes of the party's members under the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment to the federal constitution by allowing unaffiliated voters to vote in its primary. Colo. Republican Party v. Griswold, 715 F. Supp. 3d 1339 (D. Colo. 2024).

Nor does it violate the equal protection clause by treating major political parties and their members differently from minor political parties and their members. Colo. Republican Party v. Griswold, 715 F. Supp. 3d 1339 (D. Colo. 2024).

The primary election law was intended to and did take from political bosses the right to control in the nominating of candidates for office; that it had surrounded the primary election with all the safeguards provided for general elections; and that the persons who are chosen by the voters to represent them, in matters preliminary to nominations, are entitled to hold the position for which they have been so chosen during the term prescribed by law. People ex rel. Vick Roy v. Republican State Cent. Comm., 75 Colo. 312, 226 P. 656 (1924) (concurring opinion) (decided under former law).

Compliance with residence requirement can be proven by means other than the voter registration page. Romero v. Sandoval, 685 P.2d 772 (Colo. 1984).