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Colorado Supreme Court Will Not Hear Candidate's Ballot Nickname Appeal

DENVER (CBS4) - The Colorado Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal in the case of a Colorado lawmaker running for Congress who wants to add a nickname to his name on the Republican primary ballot. Rep. Dave Williams had petitioned the court to appear as "Dave 'Let's Go Brandon' Williams" on the ballot in June.

Rep. Dave Williams, R-Colorado Springs
Rep. Dave Williams, R-Colorado Springs, is interviewed by CBS4's Shaun Boyd (credit: CBS)

Rep. Williams initially wanted to add the nickname to his name on the primary ballot. There is no rule against adding a non-political nickname.

In an email to supporters earlier this month, Williams announced a lawsuit against Secretary of State Jena Griswold to allow him to appear as "Dave 'Let's Go Brandon' Williams" on the June primary ballot. He won at the 5th Congressional District Assembly, which will give him a top spot on the Republican primary ballot in June.

In a statement to CBS4, the Secretary of State's office said the following:

"While Colorado statute does permit the use of nicknames on the ballot, our office does not believe this is a good faith use of that statute and will cause confusion for voters. The Secretary of State's Office looks forward to defending our practice of ensuring the ballot remains clear and accessible for all Colorado voters."

On Wednesday, a court barred Rep. Williams from using the name, saying he proved proper use of the nickname but Secretary of State Jena Griswold used property authority in not allowing the name to appear on the ballot.

Williams said in the email to his supporters he would appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court, and that if the court didn't hear the appeal, "they are derelict in their duty and lawmakers should remove their salaries or move to term them out of office without delay."

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