Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ryan Frazier will get another day in court.

The Colorado Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear an appeal by the former Aurora city councilman as he seeks to join four other candidates in the June primary.

Frazier lost an earlier round last week in Denver District Court, where a judge ruled he hadn’t collected enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. In a twist, the court ordered election officials to include Frazier’s name on mail ballots, which must be shipped to some voters on Friday, although he will have to withdraw from the race if he loses his appeal.

The high court ordered attorneys for Secretary of State Wayne Williams to file a brief by May 18 and said Frazier’s attorneys — including former Secretary of State Scott Gessler — to file their reply by May 23.

Four Republicans — El Paso County Commissioner Darryl Glenn, Fort Collins businessman Jack Graham, former state Rep. Jon Keyser, R-Morrison, and Colorado Springs businessman Robert Blaha — are also on the June 28 primary ballot. Glenn qualified with an overwhelming vote of support from delegates at the state GOP assembly, Graham successfully petitioned on, and both Keyser and Blaha won court rulings overturning a finding that they hadn’t submitted enough petition signatures.

The candidates are campaigning for the chance to run against Democrat Michael Bennet, who is seeking a second full term in the Senate. He is unopposed for his party’s nomination.

Frazier is appealing a ruling that determined the signatures he submitted to gain ballot access still fell short of requirements — state law requires 1,500 valid signatures from each of Colorado’s seven congressional districts — even after a judge allowed dozens to be counted.

“The reason we’re challenging the ruling is because the system is broken, the petition process is stuck in the last century,” Frazier told The Colorado Statesman. “I’m fighting to fix this whole system. It’s not just a bout me, it’s about everyday Coloradans having their voices heard.”

Frazier needs 73 more signatures gathered in the 3rd Congressional District to be “rehabilitated,” or found to have been gathered in substantial compliance with the law, as statute requires.

In his appeal, Frazier is challenging the constitutionality of two requirements that are part of the petition process for candidates: one that says only registered Colorado voters affiliated with the same party as a candidate may circulate petitions and another that only allows a voter’s signature to count on the petition of a single candidate for the same office.

His attorneys argue in court filings that both requirements violate the First and 14th Amendment rights of both voters and candidates. (Because they’re challenging the ruling on constitutional grounds, they’re asking for attorney fees in addition to a ruling that would allow votes for Frazier to count.)

“There were hundreds, if not thousands of valid Republican signatures thrown out,” Frazier said. “We’re fighting because, once we’re on the ballot, we will have ensured that all the voters and our supporters who have signed the petitions will have had their voice heard. That is what I believe to be the most important.”

Frazier added that he is confident in his appeal but “will absolutely comply with the judge’s orders” to withdraw from the primary if he doesn’t prevail. (An election law attorney noted that the unusual order was necessary to keep clerks from counting Frazier’s votes if he doesn’t wind up qualifying for the ballot because clerks would otherwise be required to count his votes.)

He added in a subsequent interview that he’s continuing to campaign as usual, although he acknowledged that his campaign’s provisional state makes for particular challenges.

“There are absolutely difficulties when there are questions about whether the votes will count for you or not,” Frazier said. “But what I’ve done, and my team continues to do, is to stress to our supporters and donors that we have a very strong argument why these signatures should count, and we feel confident we will win this case and go on to win this primary.”

— ernest@coloradostatesman.com