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The State ex rel. Ford v. Trigg

Supreme Court of Missouri1880-10
72 Mo. 365

Summary

Holding. The county clerk exceeded his authority by modifying vote certifications based on comparison with tally sheets and must certify to the Secretary of State only the vote totals as originally certified by the precinct election judges and clerks. A peremptory writ of mandamus is awarded.

Nicholas Ford sought a court order requiring the Ray County clerk to file congressional election returns with the Secretary of State based on the vote totals as originally certified by the precinct election judges and clerks. The county clerk had instead adjusted and re-certified the vote counts after comparing the official poll books against tally sheets, finding arithmetic errors in the judges' certifications. The clerk corrected one vote for Craig in Russellville precinct and one vote for Ford in Hardin precinct based on this comparison.

The court determined that the clerk had acted outside his legal authority, despite apparently good faith. The clerk's sole duty was to transmit to the Secretary of State the exact vote totals as certified by the election judges and clerks—no more and no less. Tally sheets, while practical tools for election workers performing their duties at the polls, have no legal status and cannot be used by county officials to verify or alter official certifications. Any errors in vote counting by the judges must be addressed through the proper legal channels for contesting elections, not by unilateral correction by the county clerk.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Scope of county clerk authority in certifying election returns
  • Whether tally sheets may be used to correct official poll book certifications
  • Proper procedure for correcting election arithmetic errors

Procedural posture

The relator applied for a writ of mandamus to compel the county clerk to certify the original election returns as submitted by the precinct election officials.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

Hough, J.

This is an application, at the relation of Nicholas Eord, for a mandamus to compel the clerk of the county court of Ray county to certify to the Secretary of State the vote cast for representative in Congress in Russellville precinct and in Hardin precinct, in said county, on the 2nd day of November, 1880, as the same was certified to him by the judges and clerks of the election at said precincts. The respondent, in his return to the alternative writ, states in substance, that the judges and clerks of election of Russellville precinct certified on the poll-books which were transmitted to him, that James Craig received one hundred and fifty-nine votes, and the relator, Nicholas Eord, received thirty-five votes for representative in Congress, but that the tally sheets kept at said precinct, transmitted with said poll-books and filed therewith, showed that said Craig received one hundred and sixty votes, and the said Eord received thirty-five votes, and that by a comparison of the poll-books with the tally sheets so filed, it was patent that a mistake had been made in adding the votes cast at said precinct, and it was apparent that said Craig had received one hundred and sixty votes, and said Eord thirty-five votes, and that respondent certified the-actual vote which it appeared each had received at said precinct. The respondent further states that from the certificate of the judges and clerks of election at Hardin precinct, it appeared that James Craig received one hundred and seventy-seven votes, and said Eord eightv-one votes,, but that the tally sheets accompanying the poll-books transmitted to him and filed herewith, showed that said Craig* received one hundred and seventy-eight votes, and that said Eord received eighty votes, and that it was apparent from a comparison of said poll-books with the tally sheets so filed, that there was an error in the addition of the votes cast at said election precinct, and that said Craig had received one hundred and seventy-eight votes, and said Ford eighty votes, and that he accordingly certified the vote which it appeared each had actually received at said precinct.

From the foregoing facts stated by the respondent, it is manifest that he has mistaken his duty and exceeded his authority. That he acted in good faith, we have no-question. It was simply his duty, however, under the law,, to certify to the Secretary of State the vote as it was certified to him by the judges and clerks of election. This has been the uniform rule in this State since the decision of this court in Mayo v. Freeland, 10 Mo. 629. If the judges and clerks have made mistakes in casting up the votes, the error can only be corrected by the tribunal authorized to determine contested elections. Mayo v. Freeland, Supra. Tally sheets are unknown to the law. They are convenient, perhaps necessary for the judges and clerks of election, in easting up the votes polled for the several candidates, but they are not required to be made, preserved or filed, and if they were, the respondent would have had no right, as the law now stands, to refer to them for the purpose of verifying or correcting the certificates of the judges and clerks. Peremptory writ awarded.

All the judges concur.