34 A.D. 79 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1898
The moving papers show that the petitioner.was duly nominated by a convention of the Democratic party, assembled for that purpose, as a- candidate for State Senator in the second senatorial district of this State, to be voted for at the coming general election to be held on the eighth day of November then next ensuing. The county of Queens constitutes said senatorial district.. Section 58 of the General Election Law (Laws of 1896, chap. 909) requires that a certificate of nomination for this office shall “ be filed with the clerk of the .county in which ” the electors voted for such candidate. The certificate is required to- be filed with the county clerk at least • twenty-five days prior to the holding of the election. "(Election Law, § 59.) The last day oh which petitioner’s certificate could be" lawfully filed was the • 14th day of October, 1898. Hpon the night of this day, between, the hours of ten and eleven, ¡Detitioner’s certificate, certified in all respects as required by law, was presented to the acting clerk of Queens county, who refused to receive or file the same. This refusal has been sustained by the court below upon the ground that as the county clerk was required by law to file such certificate, he could only comply with such provision when at his office, where the law requires the clerk to keep his books and files and to- receive and file such papers. The County Law requires that county clerks, between the thirtieth day of September and the first day of April, shall keep their offices open for the transaction of public business from nine "o’clock in the forenoon to five o’clock in the afternoon, except upon Sundays and holidays or half-holidays. (Laws of 1892, chap. 686, § 165.) It is argued, therefore, that as this certificate was presented after the hour for closing his office, he could not lawfully receive and file the same, and, therefore, the attempt to file was inoperative.
The statute does not "make the act of keeping open the clerk’s office, after or before the hours mentioned therein, unlawf ul; it simply fixes the hours in the day when it shall be open, for the transaction of public business. What effect' an official act of the clerk would have when done after the closing or before the opening hour,
This view is confirmed by the customary practice of the Secretary-of State, and other persons and bodies required to receive certificates of this character, who keep their respective offices open until midnight of the last day for filing certificates, in order that all legal rights may be preserved. This practice is commendable. But whether it be adopted or not, we think the statute is satisfied when
The order should be reversed, and the motion granted.
All concurred.
Order reversed and application granted, without costs.