Gessler seeks court order forcing Morse recall election date

July 15, 2013

By Alex Murray

DENVER, Colorado: The move to recall the President of the Colorado State Senate has become even more litigious, as Secretary of State Scott Gessler (R) has sued Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) to force him to set an election date.

In a writ of mandamus filed on Sunday, Gessler requests an emergency hearing, charging Hickenlooper with failing to perform his constitutional duty to set the date of the recall election of John Morse (D). The Denver Post reported that Hickenlooper is waiting on the outcome of a Wednesday district court hearing that will decide if he is required to set a date even as a legal challenge against the Morse recall petition continues. Hickenlooper has 60 days from the date of petition certification, which was July 5, to set the election date.

Morse and fellow Democratic Sen. Angela Giron are facing recall elections for recent votes on gun control measures including a 15-round limit on magazine capacity and an expansion of background checks to all private sales and transfers. Last week, Giron lost a challenge to the validity of petition signatures against her.

In May, Gessler filed papers to consider a challenge to Hickenlooper in 2014.

See also

• Scott Gessler
• John Hickenlooper
• Angela Giron
• Angela Giron recall, Colorado State Senate (2013)
• John Morse
• John Morse recall, Colorado State Senate (2013)
• Laws governing recall in Colorado