Colorado

Civil Procedure

Civil Procedure

Rule 100 – Contested Elections

(a) Statement of Contest; Where Filed. Any qualified elector wishing to contest the election of any person to the office of presidential elector, supreme court justice, court of appeals judge, district, or county judge, shall within 35 days after the canvass of the secretary of state, in case of a presidential elector, supreme court justice, court of appeals judge, or district judge, file in the office of the secretary of state a written statement of his intention to contest; and where the contest is for the office of county judge, such statement shall be filed in the office of the county clerk of the proper county within 35 days after the canvass by the county board of canvassers, which statement shall set forth:

(1) The name of the contestor;
(2) the name of the contestee;
(3) the office;
(4) the time of the election;
(5) the particular cause of contest. The statement shall be verified by the affidavit of the contesting party.
(b) Trial. The contestor, or some one in behalf of the person for whose benefit the contest is made, shall, within 35 days after the filing of the statement of contest, file a complaint in the office of the clerk of the supreme court, if the contest relates to a presidential elector or supreme court justice, or in the office of the clerk of the court of appeals, if the contest relates to a court of appeals judge, or in the office of the clerk of the district court in the proper county, if the contest relates to a district or county judge. Upon the filing of such complaint the clerk shall issue summons. When the case is at issue, the court shall hear and determine the same in a summary manner, without the intervention of a jury.

C.R.C.P. 100

Source: Entire rule amended and adopted December 14, 2011, effective January 1, 2012, for all cases pending on or filed on or after January 1, 2012, pursuant to C.R.C.P. 1(b).

Judges of courts of record, except Denver county judges, are appointed to office pursuant to section 20 of article VI and are elected pursuant to section 25 of article VI of the state constitution.

Annotation Annotator’s note. Since section (b) of this rule supplanted rule 87 of the former Supreme Court Rules, cases construing that rule have been included in the annotations to this rule. Election contests, for whatever office, necessarily are and must be summary. Gunson v. Baldauf, 88 Colo. 436, 297 P. 516 (1931). The method of procedure to be followed depends upon the office sought to be contested. Gunson v. Baldauf, 88 Colo. 436, 297 P. 516 (1931). The sufficiency of a complaint may be questioned by motion. Gunson v. Baldauf, 88 Colo. 436, 297 P. 516 (1931). The incorporation of the notice of contest in contestor’s petition, without further allegation of facts, does not constitute a statement of the grounds of contest as required by this rule and by logical pleading. Sparks v. Eldred, 78 Colo. 55, 239 P. 730 (1925).

For election contests, see part 2 of article 11 of title 1, C.R.S.; for canvassing of votes, see article 10 of title 1, C.R.S.