The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1930-10-24
APPLICATION FOR
MANDAMUS WRIT
DENIED BY court
High Tribunal Refuses Local
Democratic COMMITTEES Per.
nit to Name Candidates

The state supreme court today den
led an application for q writ of man.
damus sought by a group purporting
to be the Burleigh County Democratic
central committee to compel the Sec
rotary of state to place the names OF
three men chosen by the group as
nominees for the legislature In the
9th district.
The court held that where there was
no candidate Of q political party for
member of the legislature at the pre-
ceding general election, q candidate
for nomination at a primary election
must receive at least 200 votes in order
to be nominated. It was further ruled
that the power Of a party committee
to fill vacancies on an election ballot
cam be exercised only where 2 vac
Fancy occurs after a regular nonii1la.
ton. It cannot make an Original
nomination.
The application for q writ of man.
damus was made by o. G. Udie, w. E
Doty and Julius Meyers, who asked
that Secretary of State Robert Byrne
be compelled to certify their names
to the county auditor as candidates
for he North Dakota house Of rep
reSentatives in the Democratic column
in the 9th district.
No Candidates in 1928
The Democratic party had nc CAR
didates for representatives from the
9th district at the general election In
1928: no persons filed nomination
petitions asking that their names
be placed on the Democratic ballot
at the primary election last June
and no names e printed on the
ballot.
Names of several persons were writ
ten In on the ballot for Democratic
candidate for representative In the
district.
A group of Democrats. claiming to
constitute the county central COM
mittee Of Burleigh county. met last
month and passed a resolution recit-
ing that vacancies existed on the
Democratic ticket for nomination of
candidates for the legislature and
named the three candidates. Byrne
refused to certify the names to the
county auditor on the grounds that
no vacancy existed and that the COM
mittee had no authority to make an
original nomination.
No Ruling on Second Question
Charles Simon. assistant attorney
general. who represented Byrne IN the
case. claimed that the committee
naming the candidates was not the
legal committee. The supreme court
held that for the purposes Of this
We shall assume that the persons
who 50 acted had power to act rs
such committee"
The committee which supported the
mandamus action claimed that the
failure by the electors to nominate
any candidates created vacancies
which the county central committee
had authority to fill.
This Is. Of course, contrary 10 the
express provisions Of the statute,
which contemplates that the people
shall have the power not only to
nominate candidates but shall have
the power. II they so desire. to re-
frain from nominating. It Is also
contrary to the express holding Of this
court" the decision said.
F O.. Hellstrom, Bismarck. In argu-
ments to the court, charged t::at q
conspiracy existed and that votes
cast for scattered Democratic canoi-
dates at the primary were not count
ed. He claimed that, for that rea-
son, a vacancy had been declared by
the county central committee.