Colorado’s U.S. Senate race spiraled deeper into turmoil Tuesday as two scorned Republican candidates battled in court to qualify for the ballot and outside critics alleged fraud.
The controversies come before the Wednesday deadline to certify which candidates will appear on the June primary ballot — a date extended five days by a previous court order to make room for the candidates’ lawsuits. District Court Judge Elizabeth Starrs said she intends to issue a decision by the 5 p.m. deadline.
Attorneys for rivals Robert Blaha and Ryan Frazier spent more than six hours in a Denver courtroom arguing their case and presenting new evidence to show the signatures discarded by the state met the necessary “substantial compliance” standard.
Former state Rep. Jon Keyser won a similar lawsuit Friday, joining two other candidates in the race: El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn and former Colorado State University athletic director Jack Graham.
Blaha’s legal case is the most clear-cut. His campaign made a series of errors on its petitions that led the secretary of state’s office to reject hundreds of signatures for not meeting the requirements in law.
If the invalid signatures are counted under the broader standard, state officials acknowledged Blaha would qualify for the ballot.
Frazier’s challenge is more complicated. Even if the judge overlooks the technical issues similar to those in Blaha’s case, he’s still 24 signatures short in the 3rd Congressional District.
The math problem led the campaign’s attorney, former Secretary of State Scott Gessler, to put forward “a kitchen sink” approach.
Gessler pointed to 42 voter signatures the campaign contends are valid, even though their information didn’t match official records.
And if not accepted, Gessler argued that Colorado’s law regarding petitions is illegal and unconstitutional because it limits participation to registered voters and allows them to sign only one candidate’s petition.
The attorney general’s office, on behalf of Secretary of State Wayne Williams, disputes the argument, and it’s unclear whether the court will address the issue.
Outside the courtroom, ProgressNow Colorado held an event to question a handful of signatures that appeared on two candidate petitions and called for a full review.
The signature of one voter, Pam Niemczyk of Littleton, raised particular questions because it appeared on two petitions in different handwriting.
Niemczyk said she remembers signing a petition for Graham outside a local grocery store but not Keyser.
“I have seen my signature for Jack Graham, and I have seen my signature for Jon Keyser, and I can definitely say the one for Jon Keyser is not my signature,” she said in an interview. “It’s forged.”
A Keyser spokesman declined to comment on Niem czyk’s disputed signature, only calling the ProgressNow review “a political stunt.”
The secretary of state’s office acknowledged errors in double counting some signatures but will not conduct a more detailed review. A Williams spokeswoman deferred to local prosecutors on the question of potential fraud.
John Frank: 303-954-2409, jfrank@denverpost.com or @ByJohnFrank
Staff researcher Vickie Makings contributed to this report.
