VERIFIED PETITION OF MICHAEL KUHN, ASHLEE SPRINGER, LYDIA K. PURSUANT TO C.R.S

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1 DISTRICT COURT, CIT Y AND COUNTY OF DENVER, COLORADO 1473 Bannock Street Denver, CO DATE FILED: April 3, :41 AM FILING ID: 6B38C48E45C29 CASE NUMBER: 2018CV31151 MICHAEL KUHN, ASHLEE SPRINGER, LYDIA K. HONKEN, JEREMY ISAAC, SHARON M. SCHAFER v. Petitioners, WAYNE W. WILLIAMS, in his official capacity as the Colorado Secretary of State COURT USE ONLY Respondent. Attorneys for Petitioners: Michael Francisco, #39111 Statecraft Law 620 North Tejon Street, Suite 101 Colorado Springs, CO michael@statecraftlaw.com Case Number: Div.: VERIFIED PETITION OF MICHAEL KUHN, ASHLEE SPRINGER, LYDIA K. HONKEN, JEREMY ISAAC, SHARON M. SCHAFER PURSUANT TO C.R.S Petitioners Michael Kuhn, Ashlee Springer, Lydia K. Honken, Jeremy Isaac and Sharon M. Schafer are concerned registered voters from CD5 who believe candidates seeking election to Congress must dutifully comply with Colorado s longstanding rules for participation in a primary election. Petitioners are concerned with Doug Lamborn s failure to comply with Colorado law by hiring people from out-of-state as petition circulators and feel compelled to seek compliance with Colorado law. Petitioners submit this Verified Petition for relief, pursuant to C.R.S and C.R.S against Respondent Secretary of State Wayne W. Williams ( Secretary ).

2 Introduction Doug Lamborn skipped the traditional Caucus and Assembly process for qualifying for the primary ballot, perhaps unable to garner sufficient support from the rank-and-file Republican voters who participated as delegates, and instead opted to petition onto the ballot. On March 29, the Secretary accepted 1,269 signatures as valid. Shockingly, the overwhelming majority of these signatures were gathered by the illegal use of paid out-of-state circulators who fail to meet the Colorado legal requirement that circulators be properly registered to vote as Republican, with legal residence in Colorado. The Secretary accepted petitions from seven circulators with no apparent relation who all claim a three-bedroom house in Thornton, CO as their residence. This group appears to be a group of out-of-state hired circulators who lack any real connection to Colorado. (Joshua Whaley, Nicole Ort, Jeffrey Carter, Terrance Despres, Joshua Stinger, Darrell Herron). Several of these individuals are members of a group called the National Association of Professional Petitioners and Coordinators precisely the type of group Colorado s law is designed to prohibit from gathering signatures. Based on public sources, several of these circulators are from Michigan, not Colorado. None appear to have a Colorado drivers license. None appear to have a vehicle registered in Colorado. Four suspiciously registered to vote on the same day, just before circulating petitions January 23, 2018, two registered on the same day even later February 16, 2018, and one was never registered to vote. One began collecting signatures one day after registering to vote. If these seven unrelated adults are complying with Thornton s municipal code, then no more than four could reside at the same three-bedroom townhouse. Everything about these seven individuals gathering hundreds of signatures days after they all register to vote with the same residence points to a flagrant disregard for Colorado s longstanding residence and voter registration requirements. There is more. A different circulator (Ryan Tipple) appears to own a home in California and to be registered to vote in Texas as well as Colorado. That circulator alone collected 269 accepted signatures, leaving only 1,000 additional accepted 2

3 signatures. With a spouse and home in California, it is highly improbable that this circulator has a primary home or place of abode in Colorado, especially considering the home listed for voter registration is the same home shared by two other Colorado voters who also circulated petitions for Lamborn. Of the 1,269 accepted signatures, Mr. Tipple collected 269. Mr. Whaley, 206. Ms. Ort, 73. Mr. Carter, 58. Mr. Despres, 42. Mr. Stinger, 36. Mr. Herron, 12. In total, at least 696 of the accepted signatures come from circulators who likely cannot satisfy Colorado s legal requirement for petition circulators. Once these signatures are subtracted, Lamborn has only 573 apparently valid signatures, a number 427 signatures short of the legally required 1,000 signatures. In compliance with Colorado law, the Secretary must be ordered to comply by declaring Lamborn s petition effort insufficient and removing his name from the ballot for U.S. Representative from the Fifth District. Parties 1. Petitioner Michael Kuhn is an individual residing in Colorado Springs, Colorado who is a registered elector in the Fifth Congressional District affiliated with the Republican Party. 2. Petitioner Ashlee Springer is an individual residing in Colorado Springs, Colorado who is a registered elector in the Fifth Congressional District affiliated with the Republican Party. Springer attended the Assembly for the Fifth District on March Petitioner Lydia Honken is an individual residing in Colorado Springs, Colorado who is a registered elector in the Fifth Congressional District affiliated with the Republican Party. 4. Petitioner Jeremy Isaac is an individual residing in Colorado Springs, Colorado who is a registered elector in the Fifth Congressional District affiliated with the Republican Party. Isaac attended the Assembly for the Fifth District on March Petitioner Sharon M. Schafer is an individual residing in Monument, Colorado who is a registered elector in the Fifth Congressional District affiliated with the Republican Party, 6. Respondent Wayne W. Williams is the Colorado Secretary of State, with his offices in Denver, Colorado. Jurisdiction and Venue 3

4 7. This Court has jurisdiction over this matter under C.R.S Under C.R.S (1), this Petition is timely filed within five days of the Secretary s March 29, 2018 decision to accept certain petitions to place Lamborn on the primary election ballot. 9. Venue is proper in this Court pursuant to C.R.C.P. 98(b)(2) because the Secretary s office is in the City and County of Denver. General Allegations 10. Lamborn seeks to be the Republican Party nominee for the United States House of Representatives for the Fifth District in the 2018 general election. 11. The Republican Party is a major political party, pursuant to C.R.S (22). 12. As a major party candidate for the House of Representatives, Lamborn was required to collect 1,000 valid signatures of registered Republican electors. C.R.S (b). 13. The Colorado Elections Code sets forth requirements for petition circulators in C.R.S , including registration to vote in Colorado. The requirements for residence for registration to vote are set forth in C.R.S To be a registered voter in Colorado an individual must have their principal or primary home or place of abode in Colorado, to which that person whenever absent, has the present intention of returning after a departure or absence To determine what counts as the principal or primary home the following circumstances related to the person shall be taken into account: Business pursuits, employment, income sources, residence for income or other tax purposes, age, marital status, residence of parents, spouse or civil union partner, and children. If any, leaseholds, situs of personal and real property, existence of any other residences and the amount of time spent at each residence, and motor vehicle registration. C.R.S (1)(b). 15. Furthermore, to determine principal or primary home in Colorado the residence given for voting purposes shall be the same as the residence given for motor vehicle registration and for state income taxes. And A person shall not be considered to have gained residence in this state while retaining a home or domicile elsewhere. C.R.S (c), (d). Circulators Lack of Registration and Residence 4

5 16. The Secretary wrongly accepted numerous petitions with signatures because the Circulator appeared on a paper review to be registered to vote in compliance with Colorado law. 17. Circulator Joshua Whaley who collected 206 accepted signatures does not satisfy the residence and registration requirements of Colorado law. Whaley claimed 564 W. 91 st Circle, Thornton CO as his primary residence when registering to vote on 1/ 23/ 18. Whaley appears to have recently resided in Michigan and to have been affiliated with the National Association of Professional Petitioners and Coordinators. 18. Circulator Nickole Ort who circulated 73 accepted signatures does not satisfy the residence and registration requirements of Colorado law. Ort claimed 564 W. 91 st Circle, Thornton CO as her primary residence when registering to vote on 2/ 16/ 18. Ort began collecting signatures one day after registering to vote. Ort appears to have recently resided in Michigan, registered vehicles in Michigan, had a drivers license issued in Michigan, lists Kalamazoo as a place of residence on a public document, and lists a phone number with a Michigan area code. 19. Circulator Jeffrey Carter who collected 58 accepted signatures does not satisfy the residence and registration requirements of Colorado law. Carter claimed 564 W. 91 st Circle, Thornton CO as his primary residence when registering to vote on 1/ 23/ Circulator Terrance Allen Despres, Jr. who circulated 42 accepted signatures, does not satisfy the residence and registration requirements of Colorado law. Despres claimed 564 W. 91 st Circle, Thornton CO as his primary residence when registering to vote on 1/ 23/ 18. Despres appears to have recently resided in Michigan and to have been affiliated with the National Association of Professional Petitioners and Coordinators 21. Circulator Joshua Stinger who circulated 36 accepted signatures does not satisfy the residence and registration requirements of Colorado law. Stinger claimed 564 W. 91 st Circle, Thornton CO as his primary residence when registering to vote on 1/ 23/ Circulator Darrell Herron who circulated 12 accepted signatures does not satisfy the residence and registration requirements of Colorado law. Herron claimed 564 W. 91 st Circle, Thornton CO as his primary residence when registering to vote on 2/ 16/ Circulator Ryan Tipple who circulated 269 accepted signatures does not satisfy the residence and registration requirements of Colorado law. Based on information and belief, Tipple owns a home in California, has a spouse residing in California, and may be registered to vote in Texas concurrently with his purported registration in Colorado. 5

6 24. On March 29, 2018 the Secretary issued a determination of sufficiency accepting as valid 1,269 signatures for Lamborn. Of the accepted signatures, Tipple collected 269, Whaley 206, Ort 73, Carter 58, Despres 42, Stinger 36, and Herron 12. All but Tipple claim the same three-bedroom townhouse in Thornton as their residence and registered mere days before circulating petitions. FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF (For an Order Pursuant to C.R.S and ) 25. Lamborn failed to present a sufficient number of valid petition signatures to place his name on the primary ballot for United States Representative for CD5 for the Republican Party. 26. At a minimum, the Secretary should have rejected signatures collected by Tipple (269) and the seven circulators claiming the same residence in Thornton (427), leaving only 573 of the required 1,000 signatures to be placed on the ballot. 27. Because the required number of signatures were not presented, it would be a breach or neglect of duty for the Secretary to certify Lamborn s name to the primary election ballot. C.R.S ; Due to the Secretary s wrongful conduct, Lamborn was wrongly given access to the ballot for the primary election for the Republican Party s nomination for United States Representative for CD Good cause therefore exists to order the Secretary to comply with the Colorado Elections Code by rejecting Lamborn s petitions and, because the remaining signatures are insufficient to allow Lamborn to meet the requirement of 1,000 valid signatures, remove or fail to place Lamborn s name on the primary election ballot. Prayer for Relief WHEREFORE, Petitioners pray for judgment and relief as follows: A. For an order requiring the Secretary to comply with the Colorado Elections Code by rejecting the petitions circulated for Lamborn by at least 696 signatures; B. For an order requiring the Secretary to remove or refrain from placing Lamborn s name on the Republican primary election ballot for United States Representative for CD5; C. For such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper. 6

7 DATED: April 3, Statecraft Law s / Michael Francisco Michael Francisco Petitioners Addresses: Michael Kuhn Woodruff Drive Colorado Springs, CO Ashlee Springer 5663 Calvert Creek Dr., Colorado Springs, Lydia Honken 4135 Shoup Road Colorado Springs, Jeremy Isaac Shaugnessy Rd, Colorado Springs, CO Sharon Schafer 1659 Woodstone Way Monument, CO

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10 VERIFICATION I, Lydia K. Honken, declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States and Colorado that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge.,6 uma K' 'ih^ux LYDIA K. HONKEN n SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO ME this day of April, 2018, by Witness my hand and official seal: My Commission Expires: 'oc CAMERON LCALOWELL IIB I NOTABV PUBLIC STATE OF COLORAOO NOTARY ID # uv eommisslo" FXPIRES APRIL

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