Colorado § 37-50-133 - Debt and tax levy election contests.

§ 37-50-133. Debt and tax levy election contests.

(1) An election declared to have approved an authorization to levy any tax or issue any bonds, by approval of the tax levy or bond question, or otherwise to incur an indebtedness may be contested by any elector of the district by suit against it as contestee and defendant in any district court of any county in which the district is wholly or partially situate:

(a) When illegal votes have been received or legal votes rejected at the polls in sufficient numbers to change the results;

(b) For any error or mistake on the part of any of the judges of election, any county clerk and recorder, the secretary of the district, or their respective officers and employees in counting or declaring the result of the election, if the error or mistake is sufficient to change the result;

(c) For misconduct, fraud, or corruption on the part of any of the judges of election, any county clerk and recorder, the secretary of the district, or their respective officers and employees, if the misconduct, fraud, or corruption is sufficient to change the result;

(d) When the tax levy or bonds or other indebtedness is authorized to be issued for an invalid purpose; or

(e) For any other cause that shows that the tax levy or bonds or other indebtedness is not validly authorized at the election.

(2) The style and form of process, the manner of service of process and papers, the fees of officers, and judgment for costs and execution of the judgment shall be according to the rules and practices of the court.

(3) Before the court takes jurisdiction of the contest, the contestor shall file with the clerk of the court a bond, with sureties, to be approved by the judge, running to the district as contestee and conditioned to pay all costs in case of failure of the contestor to maintain the contest.

(4) When the validity of any tax levy or bond or other indebtedness election is contested, the plaintiff or plaintiffs, within thirty days after the returns of the election are canvassed and the results declared and published, or last published, as the case may be, shall file with the clerk of the court a verified written complaint setting forth specifically:

(a) The name of the party contesting the election and a statement that the plaintiff or each plaintiff is an elector of the district;

(b) The proposition or propositions voted on at the election that are contested, the name of the district as defendant and contestee, and the date of the election; and

(c) The particular grounds of the contest.

(5) No such contest shall be maintained and no election shall be set aside or held invalid unless such a complaint is filed within the period prescribed in subsection (4) of this section.

(6) Except as otherwise provided in this article, the election laws pertaining to contested election cases of municipal offices as provided in part 13 of article 10 of title 31, C.R.S., of the "Colorado Municipal Election Code of 1965", shall apply to tax levy or bond or other indebtedness elections; except that any such contest shall be regarded as one contesting the outcome of the vote on the proposition authorizing the tax levy or issuance of securities or otherwise incurring the indebtedness, rather than election to office, and the district as contestee, rather than a person declared to have been elected to office, shall be regarded as the defendant.

(7) If the board declares the proposition authorizing the tax levy or issuance of bonds or otherwise incurring the indebtedness to have carried and no contest is duly filed or if such a contest is filed after it is favorably terminated, the board may issue the bonds or otherwise incur the tax levy or indebtedness authorized at the election at one time or from time to time.

Source: L. 2004: Entire article added, p. 1923, § 1, effective August 4.