KUSA — A federal judge has overturned a state supreme court ruling that barred six-term Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado Springs) from a spot on the June primary ballot based on the fact one of the people hired to gather his petition signatures wasn’t a Colorado resident.
Lamborn was required to collect 1,000 signatures from registered Republican voters in his district to make the primary ballot since he opted not to participate in the state assembly. He gathered 1,269 signatures– but between state supreme court and district court rulings, Lamborn lost 327 of those.
Two of Lamborn’s signature collectors were not from Colorado, which violated a law that the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office said has been in existence since 1980 and that the U.S. representative has known about since he first ran for office in 2006.
In a 25-page ruling that came down Tuesday afternoon, Judge Philip Brimmer said the Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams can't enforce the residency requirement for signatures.
Lamborn needed 1,000 out of the 200,000 registered Republicans in the district to sign a petition to get him on the ballot. The previously contested signatures gathered by people from out-of-state will count, giving him enough.
The federal lawsuit wasn’t Lamborn’s only last-ditch effort for a ballot spot. He has also filed a motion in state court to correct other signatures that were deemed invalid due to minor errors.
Williams' office put out a news release saying Brimmer won't let him enforce the state law that's been on the books since 1980 and said his office will evaluate the case but is shifting their focus to the fast-approaching elections.
Kyle Fisk, spokesperson for the voters who sued on this issue in the first place, says he's disappointed a federal court overruled state courts on the issue.
"We have filed an immediate appeal to the 10th Circuit," Fisk said in an emailed statement. "We have also requested that Secretary Williams not be allowed to certify the ballot until the 10th Circuit hears the appeal."
The ruling, if it remains in effect, means that there will be five names on the Colorado District 5 GOP primary ballot, including Lamborn.
Owen Hill, a small businessman from Colorado Springs; Bill Rhea, who calls himself a "true centrist" Republican; Tyler Stevens, former Green Mountain Falls mayor; and Darryl Glenn, who ran against and lost to Democratic Senator Michael Bennet in 2016 will all face Lamborn in the primary.
