Libertarian Party Colorado Candidates

START RELEASE

AURORA --

After four weeks of legal wrangling and an emergency appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court, Ken Waters, Libertarian candidate for Arapahoe County Sheriff, lost his battle for ballot access.

This loss has cleared the way for an uncontested sheriff race in Arapahoe County. Waters noted "Thanks to the Republican Party, the citizens of Arapahoe County now have four more years of ticket quotas to look forward to."

Republican Clerk and Recorder Nancy Doty notified Waters on July 18th, 62 days after Waters filed his Certificate of Designation, that his name would be removed from the ballot. Doty cited a state statute requiring the candidate be affiliated with their current party for 12 months and also disaffiliated with their former party for 12 months.

Waters challenged the ruling, citing previous case law that determined the 12-month rule was unconstitutional. Waters, who registered as a Libertarian in December 2005, also noted that the cited state statute and the Secretary of State handbook for candidates says that you must be a party member for 12 months, "unless party rules state otherwise". The Libertarian Party of Colorado has a 60-day voter registration requirement and thus Waters met this standard.

On August 11th, Waters served Doty a demand letter, noting the above facts and insisting he be placed back on the ballot. When Doty failed to respond, Waters filed suit in Arapahoe County District Court on August 17th.

Judge J. Mark Hannen heard the case on August 23rd.

Waters attorney Rick Daily argued:

• The statute cited was ruled unconstitutional in a 1988 Denver District Court case
• The 12 month requirement was ruled unconstitutional in a 1986 Supreme Court case
• The Colorado Secretary of State's office had issued previous opinions supporting minor party rules allowing for less than the 12 month affiliation
• The state has no compelling interesting in denying access to the minor party candidate

Arapahoe County argued that the statute was valid and did apply. They contended that the statute was intended to avoid voter confusion and that the state had a compelling interest in enforcing the 12-month rule. They also cited a 1991 Colorado ruling "Colorado Libertarian Party vs. Secretary of State", which Daily contends was not relevant to this case.

After deliberating for 7 days, Judge Hannen issued a written ruling on August 30th, siding with the county. Hannen ruled that the petitioners failed to prove the unconstitutionality of the state statute. He also said the 1991 case is the controlling law in Colorado.

Hannen noted in his ruling, "The Supreme Court held that the 12-month unaffiliation requirement is constitutional for two reasons. First, the Court concluded that the requirement is constitutional because it protects the compelling state interest of furthering the stability of the political system and preventing confusion among voters. Second, the Court concluded that treating major political parties differently from political organizations or minor political parties does not violate the equal protection provisions of either the federal or state constitutions."

Waters reacted by stating, "Did the judge not read the quote chiseled on the Supreme Court building?" -Equal Justice Under Law- Waters also noted, "How can minor political parties be treated differently than major political parties? What a contradiction in terms!" As for the stability of the political system - Waters said, "Apparently, according to this ruling, the residents of Arapahoe County are unable to comprehend one more name on the ballot."

On August 31st, Daily filed an emergency appeal to the state supreme court. Daily was notified on September 1st that the court would not hear his appeal.

END RELEASE