Title: Ex Parte Vines

State: alabama

Issuer: Alabama Supreme Court

Document:

456 So. 2d 26 (1984)
Ex parte Robert VINES.
(re Ed YEARGAN v. Ed ALLEN, et al.)
83-1174.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
August 24, 1984.
*27 Calvin D. Biggers, Tuskegee, for petitioner.
R.C. Wallace, Jr., Lafayette, and John W. Johnson, Jr., Lanett, for respondent.
PER CURIAM.
A municipal election was held in Lafayette, Alabama, on July 10, 1984. Petitioner Vines was one of four candidates for mayor. Election officials certified the results of the election for mayor as follows:
On July 12, 1984, candidate Ed Yeargan filed an action for declaratory judgment in the Circuit Court of Chambers County against the other three candidates, asking the court to hold a hearing to determine whether there had been a malfunction of voting machine No. 4, which was designated for all voters whose last name began with letters T through Z of the alphabet. Yeargan alleged that the official report of the votes cast in machine No. 4 showed that he received no votes in that machine while in truth he had received legal votes, but because of a malfunction of the machine and not because of any fault of the other candidates, legal votes for his candidacy were not received. There were only four machines used in the election, and No. 4 was referred to by the trial judge as Box Four.
The trial court held a hearing at which all the candidates were present. The machine in Box Four was conclusively shown to have malfunctioned in that no votes cast for candidate Yeargan registered on the machine. Machine No. 4 was demonstrated before the trial court, and the lever by Yeargan's name was pulled five times, but the machine did not register that action. Several witnesses testified that they had voted for candidate Yeargan in Box Four, and since the returns showed that he received no votes in that box, the trial court correctly concluded that he had been deprived of legal votes cast for him. The trial court, at the conclusion of the hearing and after examining the machine, expressly found that because the machine had malfunctioned and had not accepted legal votes cast for candidate Yeargan, a number of duly qualified electors had been disfranchised. The court also held that had candidate Yeargan received the legal votes cast for him, the results of the election would have been different. The court thereupon set aside the results of the July 10 election "in regard to Box Four" and ordered another election to be held on July 24, 1984, "wherein all electors who voted in Box Four on July 10, 1984, will be allowed to re-cast their ballots in the mayor's race. Only those persons which the poll lists indicate voted on July 10, 1984, will be allowed to vote on July 24, 1984."
Petitioner Vines thereupon filed this petition, alleging that by its order the trial court exceeded its authority, asking that a *28 writ of prohibition issue restraining the trial court's exercise of equity jurisdiction, and seeking an order setting aside the trial court's judgment of July 17, 1984. It is readily apparent that Vine's second place position and, thus, his participation in the run-off election are vitally affected by the trial court's order.
Election challenges are, but for few exceptions not present here, strictly statutory proceedings, and courts are expressly limited in the relief to be awarded in election contests. Walker v. Junior, 247 Ala. 342, 24 So. 2d 431 (1945), and Ala.Code 1975:
We turn then to the statutory provisions governing municipal elections.
Section 11-46-69 sets out the grounds for which municipal elections may be challenged:
The trial court's jurisdiction was invoked in this case by candidate Yeargan's complaint in which he specifically alleged that legal votes had been rejected, § 11-46-69(a)(4), in Box Four. Petitioner Vines contends here, however, that the relief fashioned by the trial court is not authorized by statute, and that § 17-5-6 expressly prohibits the fashioning of equitable relief. We agree. Section 11-46-70 governs where, as here, no candidate received or would have received (but for the defect in the election process in Box Four) the requisite number of votes for election. Section 11-46-70 reads: *29 § 11-46-70. SameTrial; entry of judgment.
Candidate Yeargan did not contend, nor could he, that had the votes intended for him not been illegally rejected in Box Four, he would have received the requisite number of votes for election as mayor (one half of the votes cast plus one). Instead, it was his contention that if he received the number of votes to which he was entitled, he would be eligible for a run-off position in the coming election.
Therefore, the second paragraph of § 11-46-70 controls, and, once it was shown that no person "ha[d] or would have had, if the ballots intended for him and illegally rejected had been received, the requisite number of votes for election," the trial court should have entered judgment "declaring this fact." Thereupon, the court should have ordered another election held to fill the office of mayor.
There is simply no statutory authority for holding an election limited to Box Four and also limited to those electors who voted in the July 10 election.
The trial judge correctly declined to substitute Mr. Yeargan for Mr. Vines in the run-off election, even though he found, and the evidence supported his conclusion, that had Mr. Yeargan received the legal votes cast for him, the results of the election held on July 10 would have been different. The only statutory remedy, however, was to order another election.
In Turner v. Cooper, 347 So. 2d 1339 (Ala.1977), the Court said:
The good faith of all the parties, as well as the trial judge, is apparent in this case, and we appreciate the trial court's effort to fashion what appears to be a simple solution to an unfortunate incident. However, the legislature has restricted judicial authority to do so. No remedy exists by statute under the facts of this case, other than the holding of another election for the office of mayor of Lafayette under the provisions of the second paragraph of § 11-46-70, Code 1975.
If one of the candidates receives a majority as defined by § 11-46-55(b), he shall be certified as elected thereunder. If no candidate receives a majority of all the votes cast in such election, then pursuant to § 11-46-55(d), a run-off election shall be *30 held between the two candidates who received the most and second most votes.
The petition for writ of prohibition is granted.
WRIT GRANTED.
All the Justices concur, except FAULKNER, J., who is recused.