The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1908-12-22


quire a recount and a reexamination of
the ballots either upon the request or
petition of the defeated party or of a
stated number of the electors. The
tribunal which entertains those petit
tions verifies the official results as a
matter of simple counting for one
thing; they hear any objections made
at the time of the re examination of
the, ballots as to the validity of spe-
ciaf ballots-individua ballots-and
pass upon those objections. Exceptions
may be taken by either side TO the
ruling of that tribunal on matters of
law which are taken up like ordinary
bills of exceptions in actions at law
to an appellate court which passes
upon them. | feel so strongly upon
the natural and proper wishes of any
it is my intention to recommend an
enactment on the subject to the legis-
lature but as the law now stands the
Legislature has seen fit to intrust to
this court the serious responsibility of
deciding whether a contest is pres
ented-causes of contest-or not, and
if so, the duty of re-eXamining the
ballots. That function was formerly
performed with reference to elective
representatives by the legislature of
Hawaii. Why the legislature trans
ferred that duty to the Supreme Court
cannot say. 1t may BEL should like
to feel that it was-because it thought
that this court would be of non
partisan nature and that it might
safely enough rely upon its integrity.
But however that may be, there is the
responsibility and we have to meet it.
We have no time to examine statutes
elsewhere to see what are the require
ments of petitions. Under the title
Elections, and subtitle Contests" our
statute gives either the Losing candi-
date or 80 of the qualified voters in
any election district the right to file
a petition in the supreme court of the
territory setting forth any cause or
causes why the decision of any board
of inspectors should be reversed, cor
rected or changed
Now what is a contest? 1t is not
an imaginary affair-not that certain
voters think there probably were err
rors-and it is almost sure that there
were and always will be errors Is
contest based on mere belief or upon
information more or less definite? That
is to say, is it'to be a guessing con-
test. We have all agreed that it
cannot be, that there must be some
thing definite before this court will
consider that cause making a con-
test is before re-eXamining the bal
lots either of one precinct or of all is
justified, and 1t is seen that ordinarily
recounting of the entire vote result
from examining the votes of one pre-
cinct result in favor of the contestant,
require the other party to insist, and
upon our going through with the 9TH
er precincts to see how they would
bring him out.
Now we have come to the conclusion
"a majority of us---that the informa-
ton which would justify us in regard
ing a contest as presented by thirty
qualified voters requires that they
shall know or have information, not
secondhand, direct information from
those who have personal knowledge, OF
irregularities in at least some one
precinct requiring the bags containing
the ballots in that precinct to be ex.
amined, otherwise any voter having in.
formation about irregularities in va.
rious precincts can state to twenty
nine others that he has heard so OIL
can state to four or five voters that ht
has heard OF irregularities in one pre-
cinct, to seven or eight others thai
he heard Of irregularities in another
precinct and so on and the thirty ot
made up in that way. We think that
the statute does not contemplate this
There is something more than res
possibility or good faith of signing the
petition which is required to present a
contest take it that any one of the
voters in this county would properly
have felt justified upon hearing from
any other voter of the things alleged
concerning the fourteenth precinct and
being advised by counsel that those ir-
Irregularities would be sufficient to in.
validate the entire election, in joining
with the twenty-nine others in signing
the petition, being, unconsciousIy per
haps, Influenced by the feeling that {
recount is almost matter of course
to ascertain the correct result of thu
vote, and that it ought in common
fairness to be made.
The petition will have to be dismiss
/. ed.
Justice Wilder [ haven't anything
to add except this, that / agree will
the conclusion that the petition will
have to be dismissed ana will put m!