AURORA | The fate of former Aurora city councilman Ryan Frazier’s bid for the U.S. Senate is now in the hands of the Colorado Supreme Court.
Late Monday, Frazier filed his appeal to remain a candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination after a previous appeal to a Denver district court failed to secure his position among the candidates for the June 28 primary election. Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams had ruled that Frazier didn’t submit adequate signatures to appear on the statewide GOP ballot, and the Denver court agreed. But the judge in that case ordered Frazier’s name to appear on the ballot anyway, keeping his candidacy alive until the state’s high court ruled on signature deficiency questions. If Frazier looses this appeal, any votes for him will not count, according to a pact he signed onto.
In the filing to the state Supreme Court, Frazier’s legal team seeks review of three items related to whether he submitted enough valid petition signatures from Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District to appear on the GOP primary ballot:
- Four previously rejected signatures that were not included in the previous judge’s order, and whether they will count;
- The 45 previously rejected signatures collected by petition circulator James Day, who did not include his apartment number on his voter registration form;
- And another 51 signatures that were rejected for incomplete information, which the Frazier team contends are in substantial compliance and should be counted.
Senate candidates seeking to make the primary ballot were required to obtain 1,500 signatures from registered Republican voters in each of the state’s seven congressional districts. The Secretary of State’s office initially deemed Frazier’s signatures insufficient in the 1st (52 signatures short), 2nd (six signatures), 3rd (306 signatures) and 6th congressional districts (44 signatures). Previous rulings regarding Frazier’s petitions cured the insufficiencies declared in CD1 , CD2 and CD6. Another 233 signatures in CD3 were deemed valid, leaving Frazier short 79 valid signatures in CD3 pending this appeal.
In addition to asking the court to accept the aforementioned signatures, Frazier is seeking attorney fees from the state.
The deal to put Frazier on the ballot despite still awaiting word on the appeal was ordered May 5 after a stay from a Denver district judge prevented the Secretary of State’s office from certifying the ballot and proceeding with printing. The order makes a stipulation that Frazier will submit a letter of withdrawal from the race if his appeal fails.
Secretary of State office spokeswoman Lynn Bartels said May 5 that El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn would have the top line of the ballot, followed by Frazier, Blaha, former Colorado State University athletic director Jack Graham, former state Rep. Jon Keyser, and a space for a write-in candidate.