Carson v. Scully

90 N.J.L. 295
CourtSupreme Court of New Jersey
DecidedJanuary 19, 1917
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 90 N.J.L. 295 (Carson v. Scully) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carson v. Scully, 90 N.J.L. 295 (N.J. 1917).

Opinion

Walker, Chancellor.

My rote to reverse the judgment of the Supreme Court in this ease is based solely upon the view that the legislature has not provided any machinery for carrying on a recount of votes east for candidates for congress, although I find in the statute a declaration of intention that recounts shall extend to congressional elections.

The learned justice, who wrote the opinion in the court below, states the case when he says:

“The insistence of counsel for the prosecutor is, that the legislative intent was to confine the provisions of this section (159 of the act concerning elections), to candidates for election, such as state senators, members of assembly, surrogates and other county and municipal officers who, if elected, are, under the statute, entitled to receive their certificates of elec[296]*296tion from the county board of canvassers. And, in furtherance of this view, it is strenuously argued that the clear legislative design to exclude candidates at an election for governor, United States senator, members of congress and presidential electors, whose election under the statute is to be determined by the state board of canvassers, is made manifest by the provisions of sections 160 and 163 relative to the recount of votes, and section 164 relative to contested elections for county offices,”' &c.

I agree with the view held by the learned justice that the statute (Pamph. L. 1898, p. 237, § 159; Comp. StaL, p. 2073; Pamph. L. 1909,' p. 41) evinces an intent to give to any candidate at any election, who shall have reason to believe that an error has been made in counting or declaring the vote of such election, whereby'- the result has been changed, the right to a recount; and to this extent, disagree with the contention of counsel that the section evinces a legislative intent to confine the provisions to candidates for the offices named; but, as I find in the act no machinery provided for the carrying on, ascertaining or certifying the result of a recount of votes cast in congressional elections, I am constrained to the view that no such recount can be had, not that it was not the intention of .the legislature to give it.

There was a time in the history of our state when no recount of votes cast at any election could be had (except as an incident to proceedings in a contested election before a body-authorized to inquire into and decide such a question, as the house of representatives, which is the sole judge of the election and qualification of its members, and the Supreme Court on quo u'arranto, where the right to office was being inquired into). Ur fact, we had no statute authorizing a recount of votes until as late as 1880. See the supplement to “An act to regulate elections.” Pamph. L. 1880, p. 2,29; Rev. Supp.. p. 277; Gen. Siat., p. 1327, § 195. And this extended only to candidates for member of the state senate or assembly.

By a supplement .to the Elections act (Pamph.. L. 1895, p. 659, § 13; Gen. Stat., p. 1367, § 369) it was provided that if airy candidate for any office shall pray a recount of the whole [297]*297or any part of the vote, by petition to one of tiro juslices of tire Supreme Court, and shall deposit such sum as the justice shall order as security for the payment of expenses, it shall be the duty of the justice to order such recount by the county board of elections under such supervision as lie may order, &c., and on the conclusion thereof shall certify the result, which certificate shall take the place of that originally issued by the canvassing hoard. The present statute, with reference to recount of votes, is to he found in “An act regulating elections” (Revision of 1898), Comp. Stai., p. 2073, § 159; Pamph. L. 1909, p. 41 cl seq., and provides that whenever any candidate at any election shall have reason to believe, that an error lias been made by any board of elections or of canvassers in counting or declaring the vote of such election, whereby the result has been changed, such candidate may apply to any justice of the Supi-eme Court who shall be authorized to cause, upon such terms as lie may deem proper, a recount of the whole or such part of the votes as he may determine, to he publicly made under his direction by the county hoard of elections, and if it shall appear upon such recount that an error has been made sufficient to change the result of such election, then such justice, in case of candidates, shall revoke the certificate of election issued to any person and shall issue in its place another certificate in favor of the party who shall ho found to have received a majority of the votes cast at such election. Section 159. That whenever any such certificate shall be issued by such justice, the same, shall be filed with the clerk of the county or municipality in and for which such election was held, and the clerk shall make and certify a copy thereof and deliver it to the person who shall be so declared elected, and in ease of an election for senator, assemblyman or any county officer, shall transmit to the secretary of state another copy of such certificate. Section 160. That any applicant for such recount shall deposit with the county clerk such sum as the justice shall order as security for the payment of the expenses of the recount, or if such justice shall order, shall file with the county clerk a bond to the incumbent, to be approved by the justicie, in such sum as [298]*298he may require, conditioned to pay all costs and expenses in case the original count be confirmed or the result of such recount is not sufficient to change the result, and if an error sufficient to change the result has been made, the expenses shall be paid by the county or municipality in and for which such election was held. Section 161.

It will be observed that section 13 of the act of 1895, and section 159 of the act of 1898, as amended by Pa/nvph. L. 1909, p. 41, omit mention of the offices, candidates for which may apply for a recount, while the act of 1880 expressly confined recounts to elections for state senators and assemblymen. -Assuming that the recount provisions of the act of 1895 are as broad as those of the acts of 1898 and 1909, it would be quite useless to analyze them, as it is the latest statute with which we have to deal in the case at bar.

That statute (Pamph. L. 1909, p. 41), which is a supplement to the Election act (Beyision of 1898), purports to amend section 159 of the act of 1898 “to read as follows,” and then goes on to re-enact section 159 verbatim et literatim, and adds another section—section 2—which enacts that the provisions in section 159 relating to recount of votes upon any referendum, or question submitted to the electors shall apply to those submitted at the last general election (1908). if applied for within thirty days after the passage of that act (1909), the time of application for which, under the provision of-section 159, had expired. Therefore, the statute stands just the same, with reference to the recount of votes cast for candidates at elections, as though the amendment of 1909 had not been passed.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
90 N.J.L. 295, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carson-v-scully-nj-1917.