Case: Schneider v. Griswold

NOTE: This case is being tracked in close to real time by the Stanford/MIT Healthy Elections Project. So for information, see their tracker

This case involved an issue of whether the Colorado State Central Committee should’ve adopted the Executive Committee’s recommendation to have a candidate on the ballot that did not meet the thirty percent voter threshold as a remedy for irregularities in the voting process.

The El Paso County Republican Party of Colorado conducted its County Assembly online on March 22, 2020, instructing delegates to submit their candidate nominations via email. Initially, the County Assembly was set to be held on March 25, 2020, at the Colorado Springs Country Club. However, the date and location were changed in response to the state of emergency in Colorado, which was announced on March 17, 2020. On March 19, 2020, the State Senate District Committee “SSDC” rescheduled the Assembly to March 22, 2020, via online.

In the state of Colorado, there are two ways for a candidate to have their names on a ballot which includes submitting a petition or receiving a nomination by the party assembly. Furthermore, candidates must obtain at least 30% of the assembly vote to be nominated. During the voting period, there was a technical issue which required the SSDC to redirect delegates to a different email address. After all votes were calculated with the new email address, Larry Liston and David Stiver received 75% and 24% of the votes respectively. Because Ms. Stiver failed to reach the 30% voting threshold, he was not nominated. 

In response to the changes in voting procedures, Mr. Stiver filed a complaint with the Colorado Republican Party Executive Committee. Although his complaint raised non-significant objections, Mr. Stiver did not dispute the fact that he did not receive less than 30% of the vote. The Executive Committee reviewed the complaint and responses and issued a report ordering that Mr. Stiver be designated as a candidate. The Central Committee adopted and approved the Executive Committee report.

In response to the Central Committee’s adoption of the report, the Petitioner, Karl Schneider, filed a petition for relief pursuant to § C.R.S. 1-1-13 on April 20, 2020. The statute provides the district court with the ability to issue an order requiring substantial compliance with the provisions of the code when there is a dispute over officials breaching their duties. The judge ruled in favor of the petitioner with respect to relief under this statute as Respondent Bremer is submitting an amended certificate of designation naming Mr. Stiver to the ballot when he received less than 30% of the vote. Accordingly, Respondent Griswold is subjected to the statute as well due to her role as the state’s Secretary of State in certifying the names on the ballot.

The court recognizes that voting irregularities occurred, but they do not overturn the application of the rule that 30% of the vote is needed to appear on the ballot. Therefore, any Designation of Candidacy that lists Mr. Stiver is in violation of the Colorado statute C.R.S. § 1-4-601(2)(a). The petitioner’s petition for relief was granted.