(PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo.) — The Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder’s Office announced on Tuesday, Aug. 26, that the recall process to remove Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter from office has begun.
The Clerk’s Office said it has received a Notice of Intent to Circulate a Recall Petition regarding Cotter. This notice marks the beginning of the formal recall petition process as outlined under Colorado law, after more than 20 bodies were found improperly stored at Cotter’s privately owned mortuary, Davis Mortuary.
The next steps in the recall process include a cost estimate, approval of the petition for print, signature collection, submission and verification, and the resulting potential recall election.
According to the Clerk’s Office, the number of signatures required for a recall depends on how many votes were cast in the last election for the specific office.
“The number of valid signatures required is based on a percentage of the votes cast in the last election for that office,” said the Clerk’s Office in a press release on Sunday. “In the case of the 2022 Pueblo County General Election, that number is 16,431 valid signatures.”
If the required signatures are reached within the statutory timeframe, then a recall election will be scheduled, allowing voters to make the decision whether to remove Cotter from office.
