10 So. 2d 167 | Ala. | 1942
Petitioners seek mandamus to have the Probate Judge of Cullman County place their names upon the printed ballot for the election of November 3rd next as candidates of the Republican Party for the several offices for which they claim to have been nominated. It is first insisted that the Judge of Probate in so having the ballots printed acts in a ministerial capacity and is without authority to question the right of the petitioners in that respect. In Section 145 of Title 17, Code 1940, the Judge of Probate is to print the names of the candidates on the ballots but there is no provision that a certificate of nomination shall be conclusive. The certificate in the instant case is equivocal to such an extent as to put the Probate Judge upon inquiry that the nominations were not in accord with the statute. The Probate Judge need not proceed blindly in printing the ballots and if it plainly appears to him, even as a ministerial officer, that the nominations were contrary to the mandatory provisions of the statute, we think he had the right to decline to print the names on the ballot and leave the matter for the courts. The case of Walling v. Lansdon,
Upon the merits, we are persuaded petitioners have not shown a clear legal right (Smith v. McQueen,
Reversed and rendered.
All the Justices concur.