Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1910-10-20
BANCROFT On
STATE TICKET
COURT HOLDS THATVOTES FOR
FIT. TUCKER ARE so MUCH
BLANK VOTES.
CR0WNHART Is DISPLACED
Opinion of the Court, Three justices
Dissenting, Is That Votes For
Deceased Person Can
not be Counted

Madison. - The state supreme
court in a decision from which JUS
tees Winslow, Siebecker and Kerwin
d1ssented, he'd that votes for a de-
ceased person by persons who knew
the fact of his decease must be re-
garded as so much blank paper.
The court grants the injunction
asked for by Speaker Levi H. Ban
croft, as prayed for in his complaint,
and orders the secretary of state to
place the name of Mr.. Bancroft. who
received nearly 10000 votes in the
primary, on the official ballot for at
tOrney general.
In the dissenting opinion it is
held that section "a of the statutes
of 1898 is made applicable to pri-
mary elections by the primary cleo
ton law of 1908; and therefore the
provision for filling vacancies in gen
eral elections in cases of death after
the ballots are printed, applies to the
primary; that the ballots for Tucker
are legal and that the relator, Ban
croft, is not entitled to have his
name placed on the official ballot
The court says: 1.-The following
propositions are decided in this case:
cd The provisions of the gen
eral election law contained in sec
ton "a, statutes of 1898, relating to
the filing of vacancies caused by
the declinatiOn, deaJn or other disa-
bility of a nominated candidate are
not imported into the primary cleo
ton law and hence do not apply to
primary elections
"(2) Under the allegations of the
complaint it must be held that the
fact Of the death of Mr.. Tucker was
brought home to the knowledge of
the great mass of the electors of the
state before the holding of the pTi-
mary and that the great majority of
the electors who placed a cross OPP
posite his name upon the primary
ballot did so with such knowledge.
"t3) Votes which are in form cast
for deceased person by voters who
know the fact of his decease cannot
be considered as votes for or against
any person, but must be regarded as
so much blank paper.
go 1t follows that under the al
legations of the complaint the re-
latOr received the greatest number
of votes cast at the primary as a Re-
publican candidate for the Office of
attorney general and under subd. /
of section Is of the primary law is
entitled to have his name placed
upon the official ballot as such can
didate.
by the court: DemurreE over
ruled and judgment ordered for
plaintiff for relief by injunction as
prayed in the complaint"
The decision means that the name
of Charles H. Crownhart will not be
on the ballot to take the place of
the late Frank T. Tucker, who
though dead, received more votes
than Mr.. Bancroft.
The state Republican central COM
mittee held that it had the privilege
to fill the vacancy on the ballot
through the death of Mr.. Tucker
and named Mr.. Crownhart as the
nominee.
Mr.. Bancroft, through his attGr-
ney, started action in the supreme
court to test the validity of the law
under which the committee held that
a dead man was person.
Mr.. Bancroft's attorneys contend
ed that a deceased person is not a
person, that Mr.. fuckers name on
the ballot meant nothing, and that
Mr.. Bancroft was the only person
who received the highest vote of any
Republican on the ticket.
The supreme court has evidently
upheld Bancroft's attorneys in their
contention.