The tiny town of Montezuma, Colorado is taking all 61 of its registered voters to court.
A lawsuit has been filed by Montezuma and its clerk, who claim that an election — held on April 1 — had several errors, with non-residents voting and the ballots being sewn together in an attempt to make voting anonymous.
The suit came as a surprise to many. "I have never heard of anything like this," Andrew Cole, a spokesman for the Colorado secretary of state's office, told The Denver Post. "This is certainly an unusual step." A few residents have hired an attorney to challenge the suit, and a motion was filed Tuesday saying the court has no jurisdiction because the residents have yet to be served notices to appear.
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Montezuma is home to just 65 people, and many of the homes are vacation retreats. The lawsuit claims that a district attorney's investigation found that at least five voters who were not residents cast their ballots. "This is our only option to have an objective judge take a look at the election controversy and give us his advice on how to move forward," new mayor Lesley Davis said.
Residents of Montezuma aren't thrilled with what's happening. "Now I'm paying someone to sue me," Chris Baker told the Post. "It's fairly disturbing that the town is using our tax money to sue us."
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