A Denver judge ruled Friday that the Colorado Libertarian Party’s pick for secretary of state will appear on the November ballot after the party’s original nominee withdrew one day after the deadline to replace minor party candidates.

Following a hearing on Thursday, Denver District Court Judge Adam J. Espinosa approved a motion filed by Sean Vadney asking that state election officials list the 26-year-old Highlands Ranch resident as the Libertarian nominee, concluding that the party met the appropriate “substantial compliance” standard with legal requirements for parties to fill ballot vacancies.

Vadney will face Democrat Amanda Gonzalez, the Jefferson County clerk, and Republican James Wiley, a former Libertarian, for the office held by term-limited Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat who is running for attorney general. Candidates nominated by the American Constitution Party and Forward Party will also be included on ballots, which are scheduled to start going out to most voters on Oct. 2.

Vadney was forced to go to court to win a berth on the ballot after the party’s previous nominee, Alex Astley, notified Griswold’s office that he was formally withdrawing from the race on Aug. 26 — one day past the end of a statutory window that permits the state’s minor political parties to designate replacement nominees for the general election.

Astley, an engineer who lives in Holyoke, defeated Vadney, who works as a disc jockey, actor and musician, in the June 30 primary, 62% to 38%, with just over 3,500 ballots cast.

The state Libertarian Party’s vacancy committee met Saturday and selected Vadney to fill the ballot line, but election officials rejected the party’s nominating forms on Monday, citing the timeline laid out in state law.

Espinosa said in his order that “strictly enforcing” the deadline missed by Astley, not Vadney, would prevent the Libertarian from being placed on the ballot, “effectively alienating the members of the minor party and preventing them from voting for the candidate they nominated as quickly as possible after learning of Astley’s withdrawal. This result would frustrate the intent of the Code to ensure eligible electors have ballot access.”

Added Espinosa: “Nothing in the record suggests that the one-day delay will prevent the Secretary of State from performing any statutory duty related to ballot preparation.”

The Secretary of State’s Office is set to finalize the general election ballot later today.

Vadney, the state Libertarian Party’s communications director, told Colorado Politics that he’s ready to hit the campaign trail with two months to go before the election.

“I’m all set to revamp my (primary) campaign and keep working,” Vadney said. “I kind of saw this coming, I have to say,” he added, noting that he’d kept his fall schedule open “just in case.”

Vadney and other Libertarian officials told Colorado Politics they weren’t surprised when Astley withdrew at the last minute, pointing to chatter at the party’s state nominating convention this spring suggesting that Libertarians nominate candidates who planned to drop out after it was too late to do anything about it.

“That rumor was floating around before any of this happened,” said Joe Johnson, the state party’s campaigns director.

Fellow party members pressed Astley, who agreed that he would stay on the ballot through the election “and not do any shenanigans,” Johnson said.

“Then, lo and behold, he drops out when it’s too late to legally replace him,” Johnson said, adding that he can’t “read his mind,” so doesn’t know what the former candidate’s motivations might have been. Astley didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Vadney’s appearance on the Libertarian’s ballot line appears to thwart a plan hatched by Wiley, the GOP nominee, who issued a press release earlier this week saying that his actions had “encouraged” Astley to drop out.

Wiley told Colorado Politics on Friday that he helped orchestrate the timing of the former nominee to prevent his former party from fielding a replacement.

Two years ago, when he was an official with the state Libertarians — and the party’s nominee in the 3rd Congressional District — Wiley had a hand in putting together an agreement between the party and state Republicans stating that Libertarian nominees would consider withdrawing and endorsing Republican candidates who signed a pledge to adhere to a series of principles said to “promote liberty.”

After a change in the party’s leadership ranks this spring, state Libertarians scrapped updated versions of the “Liberty Pledge,” contending that it was the party’s job to promote its own candidates, not run cover for Republicans.

Following Astley’s withdrawal, however, Wiley said in a statement that he’s signed the abandoned pledge, which he claimed “encouraged” Astley to withdraw, “preventing a Libertarian spoiler in the Secretary of State race.”

“I signed the Liberty Pledge because only through coalition can Republicans and
Libertarians resist the failed status quo in Denver and restore elections Coloradans can trust, ” Wiley said, adding that Astley’s move “keeps the liberty vote unified instead of splitting it on November 3.”

Wiley said Friday in a text message that the judge’s order placing Vadney on the ballot exempted the Libertarians from both state law and the party’s bylaws, which require 15 days’ advance notice before holding a meeting to fill a ballot vacancy.