The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-11-26
MARKED BALLOTS
Important Decision by JUS
tice Collins in the Bay
onne Recount.
BROAD CONSTRUCTIONS
Court Decides That the Elec-
tor Must Have the Bene.
fit of the Doubt.
BROAD CONSTRUCTIONS

Supreme Court Justice Collins late
yesterday afternoon heard the arguments
of counsel ON the disputed ballots of the
Bayonne election recount and gave his
decision on the different classes of the
same but did not examine the many
which will have to be passed upon sep
arately. The County Board of Elections
must now proceed with its canvass as far
as the ballots already passed upon will
permit, and all that cannot be decided
upon by the members of that body will
be presented to the court ON Monday
morning next and be finally disposed of.
The recount will be resumed on Friday
morning and everything will be in readi-
ness for the official announcement of the
results ON Monday after the court has
examined the few dispuated ballots that
will remain.
Justice Collins, in giving his decisions
on the different classes of disputed bal
lots, as arranged by the County Election
Board, ordered, as far as possible, every
ballot to be counted that was not clearly
marked ballot within the meaning of
+ the law. He gave the elector the bene-
fit of the doubt wherever possible, and
his decisions showed that he considered
the manifest intent of the voter as para
mount to the technical objections of coun-
sci on either side.
DEFEATED NOW ELECTED.
1t is estimated that Charles McGee,
the Democratic candidate for Council
man-at-large, will have a plurality of
over $50 when the count is complied and
that Frank H. Kimmerly, one of the
who, in the face of the original returns
was defeated by II votes, will be elected
by close to 100.
John ]. Nealon's majority for Coun-
Gilman in the Second Ward will be
above so instead of IL, as shown by the
| original returns.
| As an instance of the muddled returns
originally filed by the various BavaHnnes
election boards, Patrick Flanagan, one
of the Fusionist Republican candidates
for Freeholder, was declared elected by
seven votes over his colleague on the
same ticket, while in reality he had
about one hundred votes less and nearly
two hundred less than Kimmerly. the
Democratic nominee, who had to resort
to the recount to prove his election.
In passing on the disputed ballots JUS
tice Collins gave several interesting de-
cisions as to what constituted marked
ballot within the meaning of the law.
A summary of these opinions follows:
A cross or other mark placed along
side the Freebooter proposition that the
elector desired to vote for or against in
validated the ballot, because it did not
"obliterate,' as required by the 1902
law, the proposition against which the
voter wanted to be recorded, but simply
marked the ballot, SO that it could be
identified
On the question whether a white
paster placed over the name of candi-
date marked the ballot, Justice Collins
said he now thought the ballot was not
inyalidated by it. AS to similar paster
being placed over the Freeholder pro-
position against which the elector desired
to vote, he held that as the law sim
ply required the obliteration of the same
it was not necessary that it should be
marked off with black pencil or black
ink.
WHAT ARE MARKED BALLOTS.
Ballots with one of the Freeholder
propositions marked off with colored PEN
as1 4 Al
rule, but when the names of candidates
We're scratched" in similar manner
the ballots were ordered rejected because
the general elction law providd that only
black pencil black ink should be used
for such purposes.
Where only Qne of the two lines of
each of the Freeholder propositions was
obliterated, the court directed that the
ballot be counted as such, marking
was sufficiently indicative of the voters
intention.
Despite the vigorous objection of cx-
Judge Thomas r. Noonan representing
the Bayonne Democrats, the court order
ed counted all ballots where simply the
word ''for' or the word against at
the beginning of either of the Freebooter
propositions was obliterated. Mr.
Noonan insited that this was not an
sobliteration" within the meaning of the
1902 freeholder law, but the court ruled
otherwise.
When the name of a candidate is par
tally marked off with black pencil and
partially with ink the ballot is not in
validated
A ballot with the title of the office
as well as the name of candidate in it
is legal.
FASTER PLACED UPSIDE DOWN.
A paster placed upside down over a
candidates name does not nullify the
ballot and must be counted for the cam
didate.
Justice Collins ordered all ballots
counted in cases where they were rejec-
ted by the local boards because the
voter also placed the ballot in the county
park proposition in the envelope.
Where a name or names are marked
off with black pencil or ink and then
written on the ballot the same must be