Foulkes v. Hays

537 P.2d 777 (1975)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Hays was the incumbent and Foulkes (P) the challenger in the November 1974 Adams County commissioner race. The first tally established Pas winner by 37 votes out of 3,025. Hays (D) requested a recount. The recount was held 14 days after the results of the initial count and resulted in Hays being declared elected by 71 votes. Almost all of the change in the results came from 12 of the 30 county precincts. P alleged that some votes counted for D in the recount were marked by someone other than the voter after the original count was completed. After a hearing, the trial court dismissed the election contest holding that any ballots altered between the time of the original count and the recount were not 'illegal votes' within the meaning of subsection (5) of that section. It refused, however, to dismiss P's 'motion to correct election fraud.' Testimony from experts was contradictory. The court eventually concluded the election officers had been guilty of 'neglect of duty' in failing to properly safeguard the ballots. The court determined that the proper remedy for this neglect was the holding of a new election. From that determination, these appeals were taken.