(1) (a) Within seventy-two hours after certification of results of a recall election conducted under this article, any elector who is registered in a political subdivision represented by an official subject to recall may file a protest using the procedures in section 1-1-113 alleging that the successor candidate who received the highest number of votes fails to qualify for the office. The protest must be filed in the district court in the county in which the petition determination was issued.
(b) Any protest filed under paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) takes precedence over all other nonemergency civil matters before the district court.
(2) If the court determines, pursuant to a protest filed under subsection (1) of this section, that the successor candidate against whom the protest is made fails to qualify, that individual may not take office. In such case, the office is deemed vacant and shall be filled according to law, including section 2 (3) of article V of the state constitution and part 2 of this article. The officer recalled in the recall election at which the unqualified successor was elected is ineligible to fill the vacancy.
Source: L. 2014: Entire section added, (SB 14-158), ch. 170, p. 622, § 10, effective May 9.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 14-158, see section 1 of chapter 170, Session Laws of Colorado 2014.