The Colorado Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from Douglas Bruce regarding a lawsuit against the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder in mid-September alleging that language on the November ballot was illegal.

Bruce claimed that the two explanations offered for Colorado Springs ballot issues 2C, a proposed sales tax increase for road improvements, and 2D, a proposal to retain $2.1 million of a tax refund, were illegal.

But Bruce missed the window in which he could legally file a complaint about the ballot language to the city of Colorado Springs, according to a release from the clerk and recorder’s office. Instead, Bruce filed suit against El Paso County after the ballot language had been approved.

On Sept. 18, an El Paso County District Court judge dismissed Bruce’s lawsuit, and Bruce filed an appeal on Sept. 25. On Monday, the Colorado Supreme Court denied Bruce’s appeal on the grounds that the county did not have the authority to change the language after the ballot had been approved, said Ryan Parsell, a spokesman for the clerk and recorder’s office.

“Really, the judge didn’t say one way or another whether the argument was valid,” said Parsell on Monday. “We don’t have the authority to just change the ballot content after it was submitted by an entity.”

The judge had asked Bruce to provide evidence of legal precedent that the county had authority to change the ballot language, but there was no such case law and no such authority outline in state statute, Parsell said.

Bruce could not be reached Monday for comment.

Meanwhile, ballots for the November election have been mailed to members of the military and citizens overseas. Local ballots will be mailed on Oct. 12. Voters can check their registration and addresses by visiting govotecolorado.com.