Colorado § 1-4-601 - Designation of candidates for primary election - definition.

§ 1-4-601. Designation of candidates for primary election - definition.

(1) (a) Assemblies of the major political parties may make assembly designations of candidates for nomination on the primary election ballot. Except as provided in subsection (1)(b) of this section, an assembly shall be held no later than seventy-three days preceding the primary election.

(b) Repealed.

(1.5) To be named as a candidate for designation by assembly, a person must provide notice in writing as follows no less than thirty days before the assembly, unless otherwise provided by party rules:

(a) A person seeking designation by a county assembly must provide notice to the county chair;

(b) A person seeking designation by a multicounty district assembly must provide notice to the multicounty district chair and the state chair;

(c) A person seeking designation by a single-county district assembly that is not a county assembly must provide notice to the single-county district chair; and

(d) A person seeking designation by the state assembly must provide notice to the state chair.

(2) (a) An assembly must take no more than two ballots for party candidates for each office to be filled at the next general election. Every candidate receiving thirty percent or more of the votes of all duly accredited assembly delegates who are present and voting on that office must be certified by affidavit of the presiding officer and secretary of the assembly. If no candidate receives thirty percent or more of the votes of all duly accredited assembly delegates who are present and voting, a second ballot must be cast on all the candidates for that office. If on the second ballot no candidate receives thirty percent or more of the votes cast, the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes must be certified as candidates for that office by the assembly. The certificate of designation by assembly must state the name of the office for which each person is a candidate and the candidate's name and address, must designate in not more than three words the name of the political party which the candidate represents, and must certify that the candidate has been a member of the political party for the period of time required by party rule or by subsection (4) of this section if the party has no such rule. The candidate's affiliation, as shown in the statewide voter registration system, is prima facie evidence of political party membership. The certificate of designation must indicate the order of the vote received at the assembly by candidates for each office, but no assembly shall declare that any one candidate has received the nomination of the assembly. The certificate of designation must be filed in accordance with section 1-4-604. If two or more candidates receiving designation under this subsection (2) have received an equal number of votes, the order of certification of designation is determined by lot by the candidates. The assembly shall select a vacancy committee for vacancies in designation or nomination only.

(b) Repealed.

(c) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, a delegate may participate in the assembly remotely, including casting the delegate's vote by email, mail, telephone, or through an internet-based application if allowed by the party's rules.

(3) (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (3), no later than four days after the adjournment of the assembly, each candidate designated by assembly shall file a written acceptance with the officer with whom the certificate of designation is filed. This acceptance may be transmitted by facsimile transmission. If the acceptance is transmitted by facsimile transmission, the original acceptance must also be filed and postmarked no later than ten days after the adjournment of the assembly. The acceptance shall state the candidate's name in the form in which it is to appear on the ballot. The name may include one nickname, if the candidate regularly uses the nickname and the nickname does not include any part of a political party name. If an acceptance is not filed within the specified time, the candidate shall be deemed to have declined the designation; except that the candidate shall not be deemed to have declined the designation and shall be included on the primary ballot if late filing of an acceptance is caused by the failure to timely file a certificate of designation or the failure to file such acceptance with such certificate of designation, as required by section 1-4-604 (1)(a).

(b) The written acceptance of a candidate nominated by assembly for any national or state office or for member of the general assembly, district attorney, or district office greater than a county office shall be filed by the presiding officer or secretary of such assembly with the certificate of designation of such assembly, as required by section 1-4-604 (1)(a). Nothing in this paragraph (b) shall prohibit a candidate from filing an acceptance of nomination directly with the officer with whom the certificate of designation is filed following written notice of such filing by the candidate to the presiding officer of the political party holding such assembly.

(4) (a) No person is eligible for designation by assembly as a candidate for nomination at any primary election unless the person was affiliated with the political party holding the assembly, as shown in the statewide voter registration system, no later than the first business day of the January immediately preceding the primary election, unless otherwise provided by party rules.

(b) Repealed.

(5) As used in this section, "political party" means a major political party as defined in section 1-1-104 (22).

Source: L. 80: Entire article R&RE, p. 326, § 1, effective January 1, 1981. L. 81: (1) and (3) amended, p. 310, § 1, effective March 27. L. 83: (2) amended, p. 352, § 16, effective July 1. L. 87: (2) amended, p. 286, § 8, effective June 26. L. 88: (4) amended, p. 294, § 3, effective May 29. L. 89: (4)(b) repealed, p. 314, § 3, effective April 12; (1) and (2) amended, p. 302, § 7, effective May 9. L. 92: Entire part amended, p. 678, § 6, effective January 1, 1993. L. 94: (4)(a) amended, p. 1153, § 13, effective July 1. L. 98: (5) added, p. 257, § 7, effective April 13. L. 99: (3) amended, p. 285, § 1, effective April 13; (1) and (3) amended, p. 762, § 20, effective May 20; (2) amended, p. 160, § 9, effective August 4. L. 2005: (1) amended, p. 1398, § 14, effective June 6; (1) amended, p. 1433, § 14, effective June 6. L. 2010: (2) and (4)(a) amended, (HB 10-1271), ch. 324, p. 1502, § 3, effective May 27. L. 2011: (1) amended, (SB 11-189), ch. 243, p. 1063, § 7, effective May 27. L. 2012: (3)(a) amended, (HB 12-1292), ch. 181, p. 679, § 11, effective May 17. L. 2016: (2) and (4)(a) amended, (SB 16-142), ch. 173, p. 575, § 28, effective May 18. L. 2020: (1) and (2) amended, (HB 20-1359), ch. 23, p. 83, § 3, effective March 16. L. 2021: (1.5) and (2)(c) added, (SB 21-250), ch. 282, p. 1639, § 15, effective June 21. L. 2023: IP(1.5), (1.5)(b), and (1.5)(c) amended and (1.5)(d) added, (SB 23-276), ch. 399, p. 2377, § 11, effective June 6.

Editor's note: (1) This section is similar to former § 1-14-204 as it existed prior to 1980.

(2) Amendments to subsection (3) by Senate Bill 99-025 and House Bill 99-1225 were harmonized.

(3) Subsections (1)(b)(II) and (2)(b)(II) provided for the repeal of subsections (1)(b) and (2)(b), respectively, effective December 31, 2020. (See L. 2020, p. 83.)

Cross references: For the definition of assembly, see § 1-1-104 (1.3); for designation of candidates by petition, see § 1-4-603.

ANNOTATION

I. General Consideration.

II. Certification of Candidate's Designation.

III. Twelve-Month Affiliation Requirement.

I. GENERAL CONSIDERATION.

Law reviews. For article, "Colorado Election Law Update", see 46 Colo. Law. 53 (Aug.-Sept. 2017).

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

Applied in Carstens v. Lamm, 543 F. Supp. 68 (D. Colo. 1982).

II. CERTIFICATION OF CANDIDATE'S DESIGNATION.

It is the duty of the presiding officer and the secretary of the assembly to certify the candidate's designation. Murphey v. Trott, 160 Colo. 336, 417 P.2d 234 (1966).

They must also certify that the candidate has been registered with the political party for the required time. Murphey v. Trott, 160 Colo. 336, 417 P.2d 234 (1966).

III. TWELVE-MONTH AFFILIATION REQUIREMENT.

In order to have been an eligible candidate for designation a person must have been "affiliated with" that particular political party for the 12 months immediately preceding the date of the assembly. Murphey v. Trott, 160 Colo. 336, 417 P.2d 234 (1966).

And in order to have been affiliated with a political party for the 12 months immediately preceding the assembly of that party, the petitioner for a party candidacy must have filed in the new county to which he had moved the certificate proving his prior affiliation at the time he registered in the new county. Murphey v. Trott, 160 Colo. 336, 417 P.2d 234 (1966).

Affiliation provisions mandatory. Unless a person comes under the affiliation provisions, he may not be designated as a party candidate even though he may have been mistakenly designated by a county assembly as a primary nominee and even though he may have been selected by the voters at the primary election to be the party candidate. Ray v. Mickelson, 196 Colo. 325, 584 P.2d 1215 (1978).

Also the provisions for designation of candidates by assembly by petition require registration of a person on the books of the county clerk and recorder as a member of a particular political party as a condition of eligibility for designation as a candidate of that party for public office. Anderson v. Kilmer, 134 Colo. 270, 302 P.2d 185 (1956).

And candidate not eligible if he does not meet this requirement. Under the provisions for designation of candidates by assembly and by petition, a person who has not been registered as a member of the political party under which he seeks designation for public office, for a period of one year prior to the date of the party assembly, is not eligible for designation as a candidate. Anderson v. Kilmer, 134 Colo. 270, 302 P.2d 185 (1956).

It is clear that the clerk's record must itself indicate the affiliation of the person with the political party for at least one year prior to the date of the assembly. Spain v. Fischahs, 143 Colo. 464, 354 P.2d 502 (1960).

Also, the record of the clerk and recorder cannot be supplemented or enlarged in any way by parol evidence. Spain v. Fischahs, 143 Colo. 464, 354 P.2d 502 (1960).