Colorado § 31-10-301 - Electors eligible to hold municipal office.

§ 31-10-301. Electors eligible to hold municipal office.

Every registered elector eighteen years of age or older on the date of the election may circulate a nominating petition and hold office in any municipality, unless another age is required by local charter or ordinance, if he or she has resided in the municipality or municipality and ward, as the case may be, from which he or she is to be elected for a period of at least twelve consecutive months immediately preceding the date of the election. In case of an annexation, any person who has resided within the territory annexed for the prescribed time shall be deemed to have met the residence requirements for the municipality and precinct to which the territory was annexed. No person may be a candidate for two municipal offices at the same election nor hold two elective municipal offices simultaneously; except that, in statutory cities, the offices of clerk and treasurer may be sought and held by the same person.

Source: L. 75: Entire title R&RE, p. 1043, § 1, effective July 1. L. 83: Entire section amended, p. 1259, § 14, effective July 1. L. 89: Entire section amended, p. 1292, § 13, effective April 6. L. 2014: Entire section amended, (HB 14-1164), ch. 2, p. 61, § 18, effective February 18.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 31-10-301 as it existed prior to 1975.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 14-1164, see section 1 of chapter 2, Session Laws of Colorado 2014.

ANNOTATION

Annotator's note. Since § 31-10-301 is similar to former § 31-10-301 prior to the 1975 repeal and reenactment of this title, a relevant case construing that provision has been included in the annotations to this section.

Three-year durational residency requirement unconstitutional. The three-year durational residency requirement for candidates for the office of mayor and councilman of Aspen as set forth in article III, § 3.5 of Aspen's home-rule charter is unconstitutional as a violation of the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment of the United States constitution. Cowan v. City of Aspen, 181 Colo. 343, 509 P.2d 1269 (1973).

Qualification to have reasonable relation to object sought. Any prescribed qualification for the holding of a public office must have a reasonable relation to the object sought to be accomplished by the imposition of the qualification. Cowan v. City of Aspen, 181 Colo. 343, 509 P.2d 1269 (1973).

There must be a present and compelling governmental interest to justify durational residency requirement because the right to hold public office, by either appointment or election, is one of the valuable and fundamental rights of citizenship, and this right may not be infringed upon by invidious discriminatory disqualifications. Cowan v. City of Aspen, 181 Colo. 343, 509 P.2d 1269 (1973).