Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1866-01-12
8eoforo gnqullrer
BEDFORD, Pa, FRIDAY JAN. T., 1866
COFFRoTH vs.. K0oNTZ.

| that preeludes successful controversy. and as
lesson for the revolutionary return judg es
of several counties Of the district, it has pc
culiar value We subjoin the opinion:
The election laws of Pennsylvania provide
in substance as follows
lst Two inspectors and one judge sh all
be chosen to conduct the election in each
district
,. The inspectors, or in case of their disa-
greement, the Judge shall ''deeide on the
qpalifcati ons of any person claiming the
right to vote, and the vote shall be received
or rejected, according to such decision.
g. After ballots are received and counted,
and the number cast for each person public
| " declared, a certificate thereof shall be
made and signed by the inspector and judge
which certificate shall be kept by the Judge
Until the third day after the election, when
he shall produce it at meeting composed
ofiudees from all the districts of the county
assembled at the Court House.
4. The judges from all the districts being
met and organized by the appointment of a
president and two sworn clerks, the votes
as they shall appear by said certificates to
have been given, must be added together,
and thereupon return shall be made and
signed by all the judges, and attested by the
clerks This return shows the aggregate
number of votes in the county given for each
person. with respect to each office, as ceTti-
fed by the inspectors and judges ofthe sew
eral districts.
5. The county board is expressly forbidden
to eject or omit from their computation any
vote which shall appear by the certificate to
have been given, except where the certih-
cate is too defective to be understood, and in
that case an exact copy Of the defective pa
per shall be certified and appended to the
return, and the original shall be fled in the
Prothonotary' Office
| 6. Where two OF more counties compose
congressional district, certificate Of the
votes given for the several candidates for
Congress shall be made out, signed by all
the Judges, and attested by the clerks, which
certificate shall be put in charge of one OF
the Judges, who shall produce it at meet
ing of oue judge from each county to be as
sembled on the eth day after the election at
place in the district designated py law.
I. By these Judges tone from each county
Oft the district the votes given in the several
counties shall be added together, the person
having the largest number shall be ascer-
tained; duplicate returns duly certified Shall
be made, one to the Prothonotary Of the
county where the meeting is held and one
to the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
They are also to sign and send certificate
of election to the candidate chosen.
The mode of taking, counting and return
ing the soldiers, votes is as nearly as posi-
Bile ike that prescribed for elections at home
1t was manifestly intended that no differ
enee should exist between the two, except
what was made necessary by the different
circumstances of the cases. The judges OF
election are to be chosen at the camp orhos-
pital where the votes are given, they are tc
certify and count the number Of votes given
for each person, the certificates are to be
sent by mail directly to the Prothonotary OF
the county where the voters belong, and the
county board of return judges must meet a
second time to receive and count them But
the duty of the returning officers is precisely
the same as it is in respect to votes gwen at
home. 1t is declared page 996, acts Of
1864 that all the provision of the genera
election law not supplied by, Inconsistent
with or inapplicable to the system of 1864
shall apply to elections held under the latter
act 1t is also specially provided (page 994
that the return judges at their second meet
ing, shall include in their enumeration the
votes 50 returned, an 4 proceed IN all respect
IN like masner, as is provided by law IN ca
ses where all the votes shall have been giver
at the usual place Of election.
1t is plain from all this, that the return
ing officers have nothing but mere minis
terial duty to perform, with respect eithel
to the home vote or the soldiers vote. i
is true that a judge while he is presiding a
IN election must hear and decide the ques
tions of law and fact, upon whicha citizen
right to vote may depend. But after he ha
received or rejected all the votes that are Of
| fered at the proper time and place, his ju
dicial duties are ended, and his decsion
upon any particular case cannot be reversed
by himself, much less by the judges of 9th
er districts. His certificate, with that OF th
inspectors (the whole three are called judge
in the act of 1864, is conclusive upon tn
county board 1t would be an inexcusabl
violation of the written law, for that boar'
to reject the certificate of the election officer
unless it be so perfectly scnseless that, as
suming it to be true, the number Of vote
cast for the several candidates cannot be as
certained from it. Even then it is not t,
be rejected, but merely omitted from tn
count ex necessitate rel, and sent forwar,
for the inspection Of others who may be a
bic TO spell it out more successfully Blu
[ have not heard that one case Of an unintel
ligible certificate has ever arisen in tn
State.
Ii may happen, indeed, that judges an
inspectors will decide enormously upon th
rights ofcitizeus and soldiers. IL is by n
means impossible that corrupt, fraudulen
and false certificates ot. election may bcIaad
by them But these ARE wroi,gs which til