Colorado's State Supreme Court ruled Monday that GOP Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-5th District) cannot Appear on the Primary Ballot in his District due to a Problem with his Ballot Petitions.
The Court Ruled that a Petition Gatherer working for Lamborn's Campaign did not Live in the State at the time, rendering the Signatures he gathered Invalid and moving Lamborn below the Threshold for Ballot Access.
"Therefore, the supreme court holds that the Secretary [of State] may not certify Representative Lamborn to the 2018 primary ballot for Colorado's Fifth Congressional District," the Court Ruled, "he cannot appear on the primary ballot in his district due to a problem with his ballot petitions."
The Decision Overruled Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, whose Office had Certified Lamborn to the Primary Ballot using a Broader Interpretation of the State Residency Requirement for Petition Gatherers. But Deputy Secretary of State Suzanne Staiert said Lamborn could “go to the federal court and ask them to strike the residency requirement.”
“The Colorado Supreme Court just provided an avenue to have a federal court strike down residency requirements for candidate circulators,” Staiert said in a Statement. “The federal court has already struck down that requirement for circulators for ballot initiatives, who are allowed to be from out of state. This is a dangerous precedent that disregards the voters’ intent.”
Ryan Call, an Attorney for Lamborn’s Campaign, said that Lamborn intends to file a Federal Appeal.
“We believe, quite frankly, denying a sitting congressman the right to participate in a primary election where the residency of the circulator denies the otherwise valid petition signatures is unconstitutional,” Call said. “We intend to file an action in federal district court, and there are a number of cases that find that the residency requirement for circulators as unconstitutional.”
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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