(1) For the purposes of this section, a vacancy is caused by:
The declination, death, disqualification, or withdrawal of the person designated by aparty assembly as a candidate for nomination;
The failure of a party assembly to make designation of any candidate for nomination;or
(I) The inability of a political party to conduct an assembly because a competentgovernmental authority prohibits gatherings over a certain size or restricts the use of public facilities due to a public health concern, if efforts to conduct an assembly pursuant to sections 14-601, 1-4-602, or 1-4-604, as amended by House Bill 20-1359, enacted in 2020, have been unavailing.
(II) This subsection (1)(c) is repealed, effective December 31, 2020.
Any vacancy in a party designation occurring after the party assembly at which thedesignation was made and no later than sixty-eight days before the primary election may be filled by the party assembly vacancy committee of the district, county, or state, depending upon the office for which the vacancy in designation has occurred. The party assembly vacancy committee must be appointed by the party in accordance with party rules.
(a) No vacancy committee called to fill a vacancy pursuant to this section may select a person to fill the vacancy at a meeting held for that purpose unless a written notice announcing the time and location of the vacancy committee meeting was mailed to each of the committee members within five calendar days of the chairperson of the central committee receiving notice of the vacancy. Mailing of the notice is effective when the notice is properly addressed and deposited in the United States mail, with first-class postage prepaid. In addition to this mailing, the chairperson of the central committee may also contact the committee members by electronic mail.
(b) (I) No vacancy committee meeting shall be held until a quorum is present consisting of not less than one-half of the voting membership of the vacancy committee.
(II) The vacancy committee, by a majority vote of its members present and voting at a meeting called for that purpose, shall select a person who meets all of the requirements of candidacy as of the date of the appointment and who is affiliated with the same political party:
As shown in the statewide voter registration system as the candidate whose declination, death, disqualification, or withdrawal caused the vacancy; or
As the party assembly that failed to designate a candidate, as applicable.
No member of the vacancy committee may vote by proxy.
If the vacancy committee fails to timely certify a selection, the state chair of theparty of the candidate whose declination, death, disqualification, or withdrawal caused the vacancy, within seven days, shall fill the vacancy by appointing a person who meets all of the requirements of candidacy as of the date of the appointment and who is affiliated with the same political party shown in the statewide voter registration system as the candidate whose declination, death, disqualification, or withdrawal caused the vacancy. The name of the person appointed by the state chair must be certified to the secretary of state.
(c) (I) The designation and acceptance of the person selected to fill the vacancy must be submitted to the designated election official no later than three days from either the date of the vacancy committee meeting or from the date of appointment by the state chair pursuant to subsection (3)(b)(IV) of this section, as applicable; except that such certification must in all cases be submitted no later than the sixty-fourth day before the date of the primary election.
(II) For purposes of this section, a vacancy is filled when the designated election official receives the certificate of nomination and the written acceptance of the replacement candidate.
(d) If a person designated to fill a vacancy pursuant to this section decides not to fill a vacancy, he or she shall in like manner file a certificate setting forth the occurrence of the vacancy, stating that he or she does not intend to fill the vacancy.
When a vacancy occurs and is filled pursuant to this section, the designated electionofficial shall certify the name of the replacement candidate to the ballot.
Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary, if a political party has established arule regarding the length of affiliation required for a candidate, and a vacancy in that office occurs, then the party rule applies.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, due to public health concerns, for any vacancy occurring in 2020:
A member of a vacancy committee may participate in a vacancy committee meetingremotely, including casting his or her vote by e-mail, mail, telephone, or through an internetbased application if allowed by the party;
A party may determine whether to allow a person who is physically present to carryproxies at a vacancy committee meeting;
The state chair of a party may fill a vacancy in accordance with subsection (3)(b)(IV) of this section if the vacancy occurs because the designation was not made by the assembly, the political party was unable to conduct an assembly because a competent governmental authority prohibits gatherings over a certain size or restricts the use of public facilities due to a public health concern, or the vacancy was not filled by the vacancy committee; and
The designation and acceptance of the person selected to fill a vacancy must besubmitted to the designated election official no later than ten days from either the date of the vacancy committee meeting or from the date of appointment by the state chair pursuant to subsection (6)(a)(III) of this section, as applicable; except that such certification must in all cases be submitted no later than the sixtieth day before the date of the primary election. (b) This subsection (6) is repealed, effective December 31, 2020.
Source: L. 2017: Entire part amended with relocated provisions, (SB 17-209), ch. 234, p. 948, § 5, effective August 9. L. 2020: (1) amended and (6) added, (HB 20-1359), ch. 23, p. 86, § 7, effective March 16.
Editor's note: Former subsection (2.3)(a) was amended by Proposition 108 in 2016. Those amendments were superseded by the amendment of this part 10 in SB 17-209, effective
August 9, 2017. For the amendments to subsection (2.3)(a) in Proposition 108 in effect from December 27, 2016, to August 9, 2017, see section 6 on p. 2824, Session Laws of Colorado 2017.