Colorado § 32-1-806 - Persons entitled to vote at special district elections.

§ 32-1-806. Persons entitled to vote at special district elections.

(1) No person shall be permitted to vote in any election unless that person is an eligible elector as defined in section 32-1-103 (5)(a).

(2) Any person desiring to vote at any election as an eligible elector pursuant to section 32-1-103 (5)(a)(II) shall sign a self-affirmation that the person is an elector of the special district. The self-affirming oath or affirmation must be on a form that contains in substance the following:

"I, __(printed name)__, who reside at __(address)__, am an elector of this __(name of special district)__ district and desire to vote at this election. I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am registered to vote in the state of Colorado and qualified to vote in this special district election as:

_____ A resident of the district or area to be included in the district; or

_____ The owner of taxable real or personal property situated within the boundaries of the special district or area to be included within the special district; or

_____ A person who is obligated to pay taxes under a contract to purchase taxable property in the special district or the area to be included within the special district; or

_____ The spouse or civil union partner of __(name of spouse or civil union partner)__ who is the owner of taxable real or personal property situated within the boundaries of the special district or area to be included within the special district.

I have not voted previously at this election.

Date ___________________

Signature of elector ________________________."

(3) For electors who vote at any election by mail ballot, the affidavit on the envelope of the ballot as required by title 1, C.R.S., may be substituted for the self-affirming oath or affirmation required by subsection (2) of this section.

(4) A person who completes the self-affirming oath or affirmation required by subsection (2) of this section shall be permitted to vote, unless such person's right to vote is challenged.

Source: L. 92: Entire part R&RE, p. 885, § 122, effective January 1, 1993. L. 93: Entire section amended, p. 1439, § 137, effective July 1. L. 94: (2) amended, p. 1195, § 101, effective July 1. L. 95: (3) added, p. 859, § 110, effective July 1. L. 96: Entire section amended, p. 1772, § 74, effective July 1. L. 2007: (3) amended, p. 1798, § 72, effective June 1. L. 2014: (3) amended, (HB 14-1164), ch. 2, p. 75, § 46, effective February 18. L. 2016: (2) amended, (SB 16-142), ch. 173, p. 592, § 79, effective May 18.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 32-1-804 as it existed prior to 1992.

Cross references: (1) For the requirement of registration before voting in a primary, general, or congressional vacancy election, see § 1-2-201.

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

ANNOTATION

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

Nonresidents do not have fundamental right to vote in elections in this state. Millis v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 626 P.2d 652 (Colo. 1981).

The fact that a nonresident owns land in this state does not create a fundamental right to political participation in decisions which affect that land. While nonresident landowners may be enfranchised, there is nothing in the constitution that requires they be given voting rights in a political subdivision where they do not live. Millis v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 626 P.2d 652 (Colo. 1981).

The decision to grant the franchise to residents of Colorado owning property in a special district but not residing there, while denying the franchise to owners of such property living outside Colorado, does not violate the equal protection guarantee of the state constitution. Millis v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 626 P.2d 652 (Colo. 1981).

Constitutional challenge to this section on grounds that denying corporate entities the right to vote on the formation of a special district violates the equal protection clause was premature as no petition for organization was pending before district court. State Farm v. City of Lakewood, 788 P.2d 808 (Colo. 1990).