46 Wis. 332 | Wis. | 1879
This is an action to determine the right to the office of chairman of the board of supervisors of the town of Elambeau, in Chippewa county. The relator and the respondent both claim to have been elected to that office at the town meeting held in that town on the 2d day of April, 1878.
The evidence shows that, according to the canvass made by the inspectors of the election, it was declared by them that the respondent, Norton, had received forty-three votes, the relator, Gilbert Swenson, thirty-one votes, and one William Waite fifteen votes, for the office of chairman of the board of super
The relator, in his complaint, amongst other things, sets forth at length the names of fifty-nine persons, who, he claims, voted for him for the office of chairman of the board of supervisors of said town at said town meeting, and charges that the inspectors, or some one of them, or some one with their knowledge or consent, fraudulently, designedly, and with intent to cheat and defraud the relator out of an election to said office of chairman, and to count in and procure the election of said Norton to said office, opened the ballot box and removed therefrom a number of the ballots which had been cast for the relator, and substituted therein, in their place, an equal number of ballots which had not been voted, and containing the name of the respondent for that office, and a sufficient number thereof, to wit, twenty-nine, to make the result as declared by said inspectors at the close of the polls on that day.
The respondent, by his answer, admits that there was an election on said second day of April, 1878, in said town, for the election, among other officers, of chairman of the board of supervisors; and that at noon there was an adjournment for one hour, to enable the clerks and inspectors to get dinner; and then denies each and every other allegation in the complaint. As a separate answer, he alleges that he received a majority of all the legal votes cast at said town meeting for said, office of chairman of the board of supervisors; that he was then and there duly and legally elected to said office; that said votes were duly canvassed by the board of inspectors; that he was by said inspectors duly declared elected to said office; that he duly qualified within the time prescribed by law, and
Upon the trial of the action, the relator called forty-five persons, whose names appeared upon the poll-lists of said election, who severally swore that they voted, at such election, for the office of chairman of the board of supervisors of said town, and that they voted for the relator for such office. He also made proof that eight other persons, whose names were on said poll-lists, cast their votes for him at such election, for said office of chairman. The relator also gave evidence for the purpose of showing that the ballot box might have been opened, and ballots voted removed, and others substituted in their place.
The defendant gave no evidence of the fact that any elector voted for him at such election for the office of chairman of the board of supervisors. He did give evidence tending to show that the ballot box had not been opened, or ballots voted removed therefrom, and others substituted in their stead. He rested his right to the office wholly upon the fact that the canvass of the votes found in the ballot box at the close of the election showed that he had received a plurality of the votes cast for that office, and that the inspectors had declared him duly elected to said office; and insisted that the evidence produced by the relator was not sufficient to rebut the presumption arising from such canvass, that he was duly elected to said office.
The relator alleges the following errors • committed on the trial in the court below:
1. That the court erred in permitting the defendant to cross-examine his witnesses for the purpose of showing that they were not legal voters at such election.
. 2. That the court erred in refusing the instructions asked by the relator.
3. That the court erred in the instructions given to the jury.
The first ground of error is based upon a rule of court adopted March 3, 1869, relating to proceedings in all actions of mandamus and quo warranto. The rule is as follows, so far as the same is applicable to this case: “In all actions of mandamus or quo warranto, in any of the courts of this state, in which the result of any election shall be in issue, before either party shall be permitted to offer proof, upon the trial, of the illegality of the vote of any person who voted at such election, he shall show to the court that he has, at least twenty days before the commencement of the trial, served upon the opposite party a notice in writing that he claimed the vote of such voter to be illegal, stating the grounds of such illegality.”
.In this case, the relator having set forth at length the names of all the persons who, he claims, voted for him at the election, in controversy, there can be, no doubt that the defendant was called upon, by the provisions of the foregoing rule, to give notice as therein required, before he could be legally permitted to question the legality of any vote cast at such election by any of the persons named in the complaint of the relator. We are of the opinion, however, that, in order to exclude the evidence upon the ground of the want of such notice, it was the duty of the relator to have specified the want of such notice as the ground of his objection, at the time the evidence was offered; and as the only objection made was a general objection to evidence, without a specification of any ground or reason for the same, it cannot avail the party in this court. In this case, the question of the legality of the votes cast by the relator’s witnesses was a question which was clearly triable in the court below upon the issues in the case; the evidence, therefore, of the want of the necessary qualifi-. cations of an elector on the part of the witnesses who testified that they voted for the relator, was neither incompetent nor immaterial; but it was not admissible without first
The general rule is, that every objection to evidence must, in order to avail the party making the same, specify the grounds on which it is made; and if the evidence is received over a general objection specifying no grounds, the reception of such evidence cannot be alleged as error in this court, unless it appears that the same was incompetent in the case for any purpose. Bowman v. Van Kuren, 29 Wis., 209-215; Neis v. Franzen, 18 Wis., 537; Tomlinson v. Wallace, 16 Wis., 225; Fountain v. Pettee, 38 N. Y., 184; Ayrault v. Pacific Bank, 47 N. Y., 570; Merritt v. Seaman, 6 N. Y., 168; Cowperthwaite v. Sheffield, 3 N. Y., 243. Nor will it be ground [of error in this court if incompetent evidence be received under a general objection, when, if the specific grounds of the objection had been stated, the party offering such evidence might have given competent evidence to prove the same fact. Best v. Davis, 18 Wis., 386; Evans v. Sprague, 30 id., 303. In the case of Best v. Davis, the late learned Chief Justice DixoN says: “ The objection to the form of the certificate is too vague and uncertain to be available in this court. It is, in general terms, to the introduction of the notice of pend-ency of action, without specifying any ground upon which it is made. It should be specific, and clearly point out the defect complained of, in order that the opposite party may, if he can, remedy it upon the trial below. In most cases, the opposite party has it in his power to obviate such defects at the trial. They are usually the result of clerical mistakes or oversights, and it would be most unjust to allow them to come here upon general objections which give neither the party nor
Upon the second point, the record shows that, upon the conclusion of the evidence in the case, the relator asked the court to give the following instruction to the jury: “ That, the plaintiff and relator in this action having given evidence to impeach the canvass of the votes and result of the election as declared by the board of canvassers, and having shown that Gilbert Swenson received a plurality of all the votes cast at the election for the office of chairman of supervisors of said
This was, in effect, asking the court to charge the jury, that upon the whole evidence they should find for the relator and against the defendant’s right to the office. This instruction was, we think, properly refused, because it asked the court to instruct the j.ury, as a matter of fact, that the relator, Swenson, had received a plurality of all the legal votes cast at such election for chairman of supervisors of said town, and was therefore duly elected and entitled to said office. Holding, as we do, that the evidence tending to show the illegality of the votes cast for Swenson was properly admitted against the general objection made by the relator, it was a question for the jury as to how many legal votes were cast for Swenson, and whether they constituted a plurality of the legal votes cast for such office.
The general charge given to the jury by the learned circuit judge is in fact a brief statement of what each party claims to have proven in the case, without any statement as to .the effects which should be given to such proofs if the jury found one way or the other, and a statement of what constituted a residence, and the qualifications of a legal elector.
The whole of this general charge was objected to. ¥e do not think this charge objectionable for what it contains; and if it be objectionable at all, it is on account of what it does not contain. If the learned judge erred in his general charge, it was rather an error of omission than of commission.
The record shows that the relator had produced forty-five persons whose names appear upon the poll-lists as voters at such election, and that each testified that he had voted for the relator for the office of chairman of the board of supervisors of said town at such election; and he also gave evidence strongly tending to prove that eight others had so cast their votes. It also appeared that the poll-lists contained two more names of persons as having voted for supervisors than there were ballots found in the box. This evidence was entirely uncontradicted by any evidence offered by the defendant. He rested his defense solely on the canvass of the inspectors of the election and the evidence given on his part tending to show that no ballots had been unlawfully taken from the box, and others substituted in their place.
In this state of the evidence, we are inclined to hold that the learned circuit judge should have directed the jury to find against the defendant’s right to the office, and that the verdict given in favor of such right must be set aside as being unsupported by evidence. This court has lately had occasion to examine the question as to the effect which must be given to the determination of the canvassers who are duly authorized to canvass the votes cast at an election and declare the result; and it was held that such canvass and declaration of result was presumptive evidence that the persons so declared elected were duly elected and had received a plurality of the votes cast at such election, and that such persons so declared elected were entitled to hold their respective offices until such declared result had been set aside by some competent court in a direct proceeding by quo warranto, instituted for that pur
It is also to be considered that, in an action of quo warranto against a party holding an office, the burden of proof is upon the defendant to show that he was duly elected or appointed to such office. High on Extraordinary Remedies, sec. 629, and cases cited in note. This he does, in the first instance, by the production of his certificate of election given by the proper officers, when such certificate is by law required to be given, and, in case no formal certificate of election is provided for, by showing that by the canvass of the votes at such election, made by the persons duly authorized to make the same, it appears that he received a plurality of the votes cast for such office, and perhaps, if the law so directs, that he was declared duly elected by such canvassers. People v. Thacher, 55 N. Y., 529, and cases there cited.
This evidence raises a presumption that he received a- plurality of the legal votes cast at such election, and that he therefore rightfully holds the office; but this presumption, based upon the certificate of election or canvass, may be overcome by the evidence; and when it is so overcome, its effect is wholly destroyed, and such certificate or canvass can no longer
It seems to us, that the evidence in this case shows very
Whether the relator had given sufficient evidence of his right to the office, is another and different question. Att'y Gen. ex rel. Bashford v. Barstow, 4 Wis., 567. In order to entitle him to a judgment, the burden of proof was upon him to show that a plurality of the legal votes cast at such election for the office of chairman of the board of supervisors, were cast for him; and, in determining that fact, the jury could and would have to pass upon the question of the legality of the votes cast at such election. Upon that question we give no opinion, as it is unnecessary to the determination of the case.
By the Court. — The judgment of the circuit court is reversed, and the cause is remanded for a new trial.