State ex rel. Walton v. Blunt

723 S.W.2d 405, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 4902
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 4, 1986
DocketNo. WD 38451
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 723 S.W.2d 405 (State ex rel. Walton v. Blunt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Walton v. Blunt, 723 S.W.2d 405, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 4902 (Mo. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

MANFORD, Judge.

This is a civil action in the alternative for a writ of mandamus or declaratory judgment, seeking to have the procedures of respondent, the Honorable Roy Blunt, Secretary of State, regarding the acceptance of declarations of candidacy for public office pursuant to § 115.349.2, RSMo Supp. 1984 declared invalid. The trial court entered summary judgment. The judgment is reversed and the cause is remanded with directions.

The parties having presented cross-motions for summary judgment, the matter was submitted to the trial court upon documents, affidavits, and oral argument, thus [406]*406providing for this court a detailed, but brief, trial record. The pertinent facts are limited and for the most part are not in dispute. They are as follows:

Appellant is presently and was, on January 14, 1986, a member of the House of Representatives, Missouri General Assembly. He holds the legislative seat of the 61st District. On January 14, 1986, prior to 8:00 a.m., appellant appeared at respondent Blunt’s office to file as a candidate in the primary election of August 5, 1986. Pilings for state public office are prescribed by Chapter 115, Missouri Revised Statutes, which designates respondent as the authority to receive such filings. Section 115.353, RSMo Supp.1984, mandates that a declaration of candidacy for state representatives shall be filed with respondent. January 14, 1986, was the first day for the declaration of candidacy as it was the second Tuesday of January for the year 1986 as prescribed by law. Filings remain open until 5:00 p.m. on the last Tuesday of March. Section 115.349, RSMo Supp.1984.

Prior to 8:00 a.m. on January 14, 1986, a line of potential candidates had formed just outside the office of respondent Blunt. It is common knowledge that in the past, potential candidates would form a line in front of the Missouri Secretary of State’s office and that their declarations of candidacy would be processed on a first come, first serve basis. On the morning of January 14, 1986, respondent Blunt conducted a different method of selecting the processing of declarations of candidacy. Blunt conducted a lottery whereby all persons who arrived prior to 8:00 a.m. received a ticket with a number on it. This ticket was then placed in a container and the various tickets were then drawn one at a time. The participants were then permitted to file their declarations of candidacy.

The parties agree that the seeking of a writ of mandamus has been rendered moot because the primary election (on August 5, 1986) has been conducted. However, while it might appear that the entire issue has become moot, thus depriving this court of jurisdiction, such is not the case. Even though the primary election of August 5, 1986, has been conducted, the question presented is one that is “capable of repetition, yet evading review”, thus authorizing this court to make final disposition of the issue. Gramex Corp. v. Von Romer, 603 S.W.2d 521, 523 (Mo. banc 1980), citing Moore v. Ogilvie, 394 U.S. 814, 89 S.Ct. 1493, 23 L.Ed.2d 1 (1969) and Southern Pacific Terminal Co. v. Interstate Commerce Commission, 219 U.S. 498, 515, 31 S.Ct. 279, 283, 55 L.Ed. 310 (1911).

The dispute herein rests upon the sole question of whether respondent had the authority to conduct a “lottery” in determining the order in which declarations of candidacy are to be filed, or whether respondent was required to accept and hence file the declarations of candidacy in the order of appearance by the declarants. The dispute involves the wording and the intent of § 115.349, RSMo Supp.1984, § 115.387, RSMo Supp.1985 and § 115.395, RSMo 1978. These statutes read as follows:

115.349. Time for filing of a declaration of candidacy — form of declaration
1. Except as otherwise provided in sections 115.361 through 115.383, no candidate’s name shall be printed on any official primary ballot unless the candidate has filed a written declaration of candidacy in the office of the appropriate election official by 5:00 p.m. on the last Tuesday in March immediately preceding the primary election.
2. Except declarations filed for nomination in the 1978 primary election before 8:00 a.m. on the second Tuesday in January, 1978, no declaration of candidacy for nomination in a primary election shall be accepted for filing prior to 8:00 a.m. on the second Tuesday in January immediately preceding the primary election.
3. Each declaration of candidacy for nomination in a primary election shall state the candidate’s full name, residence address, office for which he proposes to be a candidate, the party ticket on which he wishes to be a candidate and that if [407]*407nominated and elected he will qualify. The declaration shall be in substantially the following form:
I,.. a resident and registered voter of the ... precinct of the town of ... or the.precinct of the ... ward of the city of., or the ... precinct of. township of the county of.and the state of Missouri, do announce myself a candidate for the office of.on the .party ticket, to be voted for at the primary election to be held on the ... day of., 19 ..., and I further declare that if nominated and elected to such office I will qualify.
. Subscribed and Signature of candidate sworn to before me this .. day of ....,19..
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Residence address Signature of election official or other officer authorized to administer oaths
If the declaration is to be filed in person, it shall be subscribed and sworn to by the candidate before an official authorized to accept his declaration of candidacy. If the declaration is to be filed by certified mail pursuant to the provisions of subsection 2 of section 115.355, it shall be subscribed and sworn to by the candidate before a notary public or other officer authorized by law to administer oaths.
115.387. Secretary of state to furnish each election authority a list of candidates for each office and the order of their filing — list, when due
Not later than the eighth Tuesday before each primary election, the secretary of state shall transmit to each election authority a certified list containing the name and address of each person who has filed a declaration of candidacy in his office and is entitled to be voted for at the primary election, together with a designation of the office for which he is a candidate and the party he represents. In his certification, the secretary of state shall also include the order in which the candidates for each office filed their declarations of candidacy.
115.395. Ballot for each party at primary — candidates listed in order of filing — ballot information, how shown
1. At each primary election, there shall be as many separate ballots as there are parties entitled to participate in the election.
2. The names of the candidates for each office on each party ballot shall be listed in the order in which they are filed.
3.

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Bluebook (online)
723 S.W.2d 405, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 4902, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-walton-v-blunt-moctapp-1986.