Opinion ID: 1497895
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Charles Ashmon

Text: Like Ms. Senn, Charles Ashmon swore on election day that my date of birth and current residence address in this precinct are shown above. Investigator Dazzo did not find Ashmon at home when he made his sole trip to Ashmon's Ward 8 residence. As Dazzo himself acknowledged, however, this surely did not prove that Ashmon did not live at the address. Dazzo knew nothing else about Ashmon. Neither counsel for petitioners nor Dazzo mentioned Ms. Allen's more than two-week-old affidavit during the hearing before the Board. [14] We are reluctant under these circumstances to consider a contention which was not meaningfully presented to the agency. The members of the Board, who participated actively in the interrogation of Dazzo and other witnesses, had no opportunity to inquire into, or comment upon, Ms. Allen's affidavit. There was likewise little or no occasion for Ms. Whittington's attorney to address the point. In any event, the burden of proof as to Ashmon was on petitioners. The Board could reasonably decline to credit an affidavit by the contending candidate (describing what someone else allegedly said to her) over the sworn statement of the voter himself.