Colorado § 1-12-205 - Vacancies in county offices.

§ 1-12-205. Vacancies in county offices.

All vacancies in any county office, except that of county commissioner, shall be filled by appointment by the board of county commissioners of the county in which the vacancy occurs. The appointed official shall serve in the county office until the next regularly scheduled general election, at which time the remainder of the vacant term, if any, shall be filled by election.

Source: L. 92: Entire article R&RE, p. 801, § 15, effective January 1, 1993. L. 2026: Entire section amended, (HB 26-1113), ch. 267, p. 1514, § 59, effective June 1.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 1-12-105 as it existed prior to 1992.

Cross references: For determination of existence of vacancy in county offices, see § 30-10-105.

ANNOTATION

Annotator's note. The following annotations include cases decided under former provisions similar to this section.

Where a county clerk-elect died before qualification, a vacancy in the office occurred on the expiration of the term of the then incumbent, to be filled by appointment by the county commissioners. Gibbs v. People ex rel. Watts, 66 Colo. 414, 182 P. 894 (1919).

One appointed to fill the vacant and unexpired term of a public office holds precisely as his predecessor would have done had the vacancy not occurred. People ex rel. Callaway v. De Guelle, 47 Colo. 13, 105 P. 1110 (1909) (decided under former law).

And one elected to a public office has a contingent or inchoate right which becomes absolute upon qualification. No one else can enter into the office during the term for which another is elected, until the officer elected is ousted, or his right terminated, which can never occur until the day appointed by law for the enforcement of his term. If at that date he has failed to qualify, the office is vacant. People ex rel. Callaway v. De Guelle, 47 Colo. 13, 105 P. 1110 (1909) (decided under former law).