§ 37-46-142 — Debt election contests

Colorado § 37-46-142

• Jurisdiction: Colorado
• Title 37: Water and
• Art.: Colorado River Water Conservation District

Text

(1) Any election declared to have
carried on an authorization to issue any bonds, by approval of the bond question, or
otherwise to incur an indebtedness by approval of the question thereon may be
contested by any elector of the district or subdistrict holding the debt election by
suit against it as contestee and defendant in any district court of any county in
which the district or subdistrict holding the election 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 malconduct, 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 malconduct, fraud, or corruption is
sufficient to change the result;

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

(e) For any other cause which shows that the 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 thereon shall be
according to the rules and practices of the court.

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

(4) When the validity of any 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 thereof 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 or subdistrict holding the
election;

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

(c) The particular grounds of such 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, as from time to
time amended, shall be applicable to bond or other indebtedness elections; but any
such contest shall be regarded as one contesting the outcome of the vote on the
proposition authorizing the issuance of securities or otherwise incurring the
indebtedness, rather than election to office, and the district or subdistrict as
contestee, rather than a person declared to have been elected to office, shall be
regarded as the defendant.

(7) If the board of directors declares the proposition authorizing the 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 indebtedness authorized at the election at
one time or from time to time.

Legislative History

Source: L. 77: Entire section added, p. 1645, � 5, effective June 9.