Title: Griffin v. Knoth

State: florida

Issuer: Florida Supreme Court

Document:

67 So. 2d 431 (1953)
GRIFFIN
v.
KNOTH et al.

Supreme Court of Florida, Special Division A.
October 6, 1953.
Miller, Miller & Hewitt, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
J. Luther Drew, West Palm Beach, for appellees Rex Knoth, Edwin F. Tedder, M.A. Kelly, S. Ora Oldham, C.A. Carlson, Lee Regan, Harold H. Hanlon and Sam Simone and Burns.
Middleton & Rogers, West Palm Beach, for appellees John H. Flaherty, Webb Moore, Stanley Gillham and H.N. Wells.
MATHEWS, Justice.
This case results from an appeal of a final decree in an election contest whereby *432 the result of a general municipal election was determined and the holding of a special municipal election was enjoined.
The bill of complaint was filed on April 30, 1953. The general election in question was held on April 21, 1953.
After the suit was filed there were numerous pretrial conferences unnecessary to detail here. In the pretrial conferences it developed as shown by the findings of fact of the Chancellor, that the contest of the election involved the absentee paper ballots. There were two precincts and two voting places. The applications for some absentee ballots contained the representation that the voter would simply be away from the municipality on election day while the law required that the elector must intend to be absent from the county. 27 absentee ballots from one precinct were cast as a result of the representation that the voter would be absent from the municipality and all of the ballots cast at the other precinct were in that category. Before they were counted, the ballots were mixed and mingled so that it was impossible to tell which absentee ballots were cast upon the representation that the voter would be absent from the municipality instead of that he would be absent from the county. The number of illegal absentee ballots was sufficient to change the result of the election. Frink v. State ex rel. Turk, 160 Fla. 394, 35 So. 2d 10.
In the Memorandum and findings upon pretrial conferences the Chancellor correctly stated:
Based upon the pretrial memorandum and findings of fact, the Chancellor entered a final decree in accordance with such findings, holding that the election should be determined upon the result of the machine votes, that the amendments to the answers attempting to set up the illegality of 5 votes cast on the machines were too late, and that the special election should be enjoined.
*433 We have carefully considered the other assignments of error and find them to be without merit.
The final decree appealed from should be, and is hereby, affirmed.
ROBERTS, C.J., and TERRELL and SEBRING, JJ., concur.