(The Center Square) – A petition to recall state Senator Kevin Priola has been approved, the Colorado secretary of state’s office said Friday.

The recall’s supporters have 60 days to collect at least 18,291 valid signatures to hold a recall election, the office said. A date for the potential recall election won’t be set until after signatures are submitted and verified.

Priola, who currently represents Senate District 25, flipped his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat last month, citing 2020 election conspiracies and climate change.

The signature gathering must take place in the new Senate District 13, which Priola is set to represent because of redistricting.

“The signature threshold for sufficiency was determined based on voter counts from the 2020 election in Senate District 25 per Colorado state law,” the SOS’s office said in a statement. “This determination was made in consultation with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.”

Advance Colorado Action, the conservative advocacy group backing the recall, said it started collecting signatures Friday.

“We look forward to getting the necessary signatures to let voters decide who they want to represent them for the next two years,” said Michael Fields, a senior adviser for the group.

Signatures must be turned in to the office by Nov. 8.

The office previously estimated that a recall election would cost the counties involved an estimated $200,000.