Daily Kennebec journal., 1902-09-18
STATE HOUSE.
Supreme Courts Opinion on
inspection of Ballots,
Candidates Failing Of Election Have a
Right to Examine Same.
Question Was Decided in keefe We.
Donnell in 1898.

eusslon mas been had in different parts
i Oh the STATE relative to the right OF
cdhdiu2tes Tor office to inspect the
paiIots' cast IN ward, town or county
LOT the purpose of ascertaining if a
| true count of the ballots so cast has
peen made 1t has been contended by
some tnat the ballots are in the Gus
| touy Oh the city, town or plantation
| cierK ana that no other person has
any rlght to inspect the same.
section 20 of the Australian or Secret
Ballot Law. passed in 1891 and amended
IN 1888, thus provides for the care of
| ballots after they have been counted in
open ward, town or plantation meet
| ing:
Section %. No person shall take or
remove any ballot from the polling
place before the close of the polls. If
any voter spoils ballot he may sue
cessively obtain others, one at a time.
not exceeding three in all, upon return
ing each spoiled one. The ballots thus
returned shall be Immediately can
celed. and together with those not dis
| tributed to the voters, shall be pre-
| served. and with the check lists used.
which shall be certified by the ballot
clerks, to be such, shall be secured,
sealed and sent to the several city,
| town and plantation clerks, and by
them be preserved for six months, as
a public record. The ballots shall be
sorted and counted in open town or
ward meeting in such manner as to
afford the electors ample opportunity
TO observe the sorting and counting;
and when the ballots have been sorted
and counted and the result declared
| and recorded. all the ballots shall. in
| open meeting, be sealed in a package
which said package together with the
| check lists sealed in the same manner
, as the ballots, shall forthwith be re-
| turned to the city, town or plantation
clerk. to be preserved by him as a
public record, for six months, and any
warden. ballot clerk, city or town
clerk or other person who shall alb
stract from or in any manner tamper
with said packages, or who shall in
any manner abstract from or tamper
with the unused ballots, shall be pun
| ished by a fine not less than two hun
| drcd dollars nor more than one thou
sand dollars, or by Imprisonment for
not less than ninety days or more than
| two years."
| w iillc ILLS StCtIOil VI tIlt Id w uOtS lIOl
provide for recount of ballots cast
at any election it does provide that
| the ballots shall "be preserved as a
public record for six MONTHS" and
| everybody knows that public record
of any kind is open to inspection Of
any interested citizen. But the Su-
preme court of Maine has spoken upon
| this subject. having ruled in the case of
| e. l. y ~, oil
| reported in the 92d Maine, that i
candidate failing of election has a
right to demand and must be accorded
| the right to inspect the ballots cast in
the election in which he was a candi-
| date.
| At the State election in 1898 Francis
Keefe of Eliot, was on the official bal
lots as a candidate for representative
| TO the Legislature for the class towns
Of Eliot and Kittery. According to the
result declared and recorded he failed
of an election, but he believed that IL
| the ballots had been properly sorted
and counted, he would appear to be
elected The petitioner thereupon APP
piled to the town clerk of kittery for
permission to inspect the ballots, they
having been delivered to him sealed IN
a package, as provided by the statute,
Ito be preserved by him as public
record for six months This applica-
ton to the town clerk was made be-
fore the six months had elapsed and
was refused.
Therefore Mr.. Keefe petitioned the
Supreme Court for writ OF manda-
mus to compel Frank f. Donnell, towf
clerk of Kittery, to allow him TO IN
spect the ballots cast in the town. Inc
petition was argued before Associate
Justice A. Il. Savage. who held that the
petitioner had a legal right to inspect
the ballots, right which the toWi
clerk must accord to him ana that lhe
mandamus must be made peremptory
also that neither the petitioner, noi
any one in his behalf, can sort o'
count or in any way handle or ever
touch the ballots. He can hspec
them and they must be exposed 10 M
inspection, but they are all the whii'
in the custody of the clerk and he i!
responsible for them.
The defendant, Mr.. Donnell. took eX
ceptions to the order of the court Gil
,ectinc the writ to issue, and the cas-
, went to the law court, where IN
,,;nts involved were presented b.
1 4 George NJ. SSlUefS anu IL dim - -'AN'
shall of Portland, for the petltlohe
and by S. w. Emery of portsmouth
N H.. for the defendant. The decision
Of the court. Chief Justice Peters an,
Associate Justices Emery, Haskel
yhitehouse. Wiswell and Strout, con
cerning. was as follows, the opinlo
having been drawn by Associate Jus
tice Emery:
..sy act of 1891. Chapter 1O2- Sectio
Ok as amended by act of 1898 Chap
tar 261. being an act to provide 10
, the printing and distributing or nai
> lots at the public expense. and TO reg
= ulate svoting for State and city eiee
lions it is provided that after tn
II election is over. when the ballots nav
heen sorted and counted and the re
sult declared and recorded, all the bal
lots shall lin opens meeting be scale
in a package. which said package. to
toether with the check lists sealed
the same manner as the ballots sha
he forthwith delivered to the cit
town or plantation clerk. to be pre-
: served by him as public record f'
six months The clerk and all oth'