Deputy Secretary of State concerned about detail in Lamborn ruling

The state Supreme Court ruling to remove Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado Springs) from the GOP primary ballot will bring big changes for Colorado voters this election season, but the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office is looking at the implications of those changes.

“We’re concerned about the ruling,” said Deputy Secretary of State Suzanne Staiert.

Staiert said the ruling will result in changes with voter registration since every Colorado voter will be required to have a legal interest in a property.

She’s referencing a paragraph near the end of the ruling that outlines how the court determined one of the circulators, Ryan Tipple, wasn’t a Colorado resident. He used his in-laws’ home address to register to vote, but the ruling identified eight different factors as evidence that Tipple was a California resident when he collected signatures for Lamborn’s campaign. Staiert is concerned that standard might be used loosely in future court cases.

“There’s a lot of people living in Colorado who don’t own a home or are on a lease,” said Staiert.

Staiert expects the implications to become pervasive to privacy.

“We will see this kind of fact-based inquiry going on where we are digging into the personal lives of voters,” she said.

However, those on the other side consider the ruling to be a big win.

“I’m ecstatic by the results,” said Michael Francisco, the lead attorney representing the five plaintiffs in the case.

Francisco said it’s a win for election integrity.

“I don’t think anybody should be qualified to be a legislator if you’re going to have that kind of disregard for the rules that we have,” he said.

But Lamborn disagrees saying the ruling was “wrongly decided.”

We are immediately bringing an action in federal court to overturn part of the Colorado law that deprives voters who have petitioned to have Congressman Lamborn on the ballot of their Constitutional rights,” Lamborn’s campaign said in a statement.

Lamborn’s campaign also confirmed they’re hoping for an injunction, which if issued would keep the Congressman on the ballot while the federal court decides on the constitutionality of the law.

The Secretary of State’s Office has expedited that request for an injunction. A decision is expected by Friday.