DENVER — The head of a liberal-leaning fiscal policy organization and a Summit County commissioner filed a lawsuit Thursday, Sept. 23, seeking to block one of three statewide measures set to appear on the November ballot, arguing the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office inappropriately approved the question and that any votes for it shouldn’t be counted.

Scott Wasserman, of the Bell Policy Center, and Summit County Commissioner Tamara Pogue claim that Amendment 78, which would require more legislative oversight over how money from legal settlements and the federal government is spent, should be able to appear only on even-year ballots. That’s because odd-year elections in Colorado are supposed to be reserved for questions that have to do with the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.

Amendment 78, the plaintiffs assert, is not a TABOR question. The plaintiffs are asking a Denver District Court judge to remove Amendment 78, which is backed by conservative groups, from the November ballot or to ensure that any votes cast for or against the ballot question “are given no legal effect.”

The legal challenge is an 11th hour effort to fight the ballot question. Ballots for the 2021 election have already been sent to military and overseas voters. The rest of the electorate is set to begin receiving ballots in early October ahead of the Nov. 2 contest.

The plaintiffs are being represented in the case by the Tierney Lawrence law firm, whose namesake, Martha Tierney, is a prominent Democratic elections attorney in Colorado.

Read more at ColoradoSun.com.