Opinion ID: 1117343
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Whether the Special Tribunal in its Review Exceeded the Scope of Matters Alleged in Parker's Petition to Contest

Text: ¶ 23. Moore asserts that the tribunal based its ruling for a special election entirely on matters not raised by Parker in his election contest petition, and thus the tribunal exceeded its scope of review. The special tribunal is limited in its review and examination to matters presented by the original contest petition brought before the executive committee. Waters v. Gnemi, 907 So.2d 307, 325 (Miss. 2005); Darnell v. Myres, 202 Miss. 767, 773, 32 So.2d 684, 685 (1947) (citing Harris, 187 Miss. at 507, 193 So. 339). The tribunal may, however, consider germane matters which happened during or since the hearing before the executive committee and matters merely explanatory or incidental to the matters originally raised. Id. ¶ 24. Parker complained of illegal and fraudulent votes, namely, legally insufficient affidavits, illegal affidavit voting, the counting of votes of deceased individuals, and insufficiencies in the contents of and documentation concerning ballot boxes. Parker further noted specific procedural deficiencies on certain absentee ballot envelopes, concerning items such as signatures and uncompleted blanks. ¶ 25. The special tribunal stated [w]e find by clear and convincing evidence that there were at least nine illegal or fraudulent ballots cast by Ms. Gardner for Mayor Moore. The tribunal found that David Douglas was assisted in voting in person and by absentee ballot by Martha Gardner. The tribunal also concluded that Gardner illegally delivered, voted, and returned an absentee ballot in Ottie Mae Criddle's name. The tribunal further found that Gardner fraudulently voted ballots on behalf of Michael Sanders, Jason Wright, Lora Weeks Carter, Travis Dye, Alice Faye Carter, Troy Brasfield and Glendora Kendall. Based on its findings of illegally and/or fraudulently voted absentee ballots, in accord with Parker's petition, which specifically alleged illegal affidavit voting, the special tribunal found enough illegal votes cast for Moore to change the outcome of the primary and warrant a run-off. ¶ 26. Thus, we find the tribunal based its order on grounds within the scope of the contest petition, and Moore's assertion otherwise is without merit. II. Whether the Order of the Special Tribunal Erroneously Relied on Inadmissible Hearsay Testimony of One of Parker's Witnesses to Conclude That Nine Absentee Ballots Were in Fact Cast for Moore as the Basis for Calling a New Election ¶ 27. Moore asserts that, since the nine ballots found to be voted for Moore were never challenged at the polling place, there was no way to know directly how these votes were marked, unless some additional evidence was adduced. Moore asserts that [t]he special tribunal exclusively relied upon irrelevant hearsay contained in uncorroborated testimony of David Douglas to determine that the allegedly illegal votes were cast for Moore. ¶ 28. This Court consistently has stated that failure to object to hearsay constitutes a waiver of the issue on appeal. Rubenstein v. State, 941 So.2d 735, 764 (Miss. 2006). Moore did not make a single objection when Douglas testified before the tribunal. Thus, this issue concerning admissibility of Douglas's testimony is waived. III. Whether the Circuit Court Erroneously Denied Moore's Motion for Summary Judgment by Relying Upon Affidavits That Do Not Relate to Any Allegations That Were Set Forth in Parker's Election Contest Petition ¶ 29. Moore asserts that the affidavits of Estelle Sullivan and Ottie Mae Criddle and the letter/affidavit of Tammy Chamblee on which the tribunal relied in denying summary judgment were not related to the allegations set forth in Parker's contest petition. [3] ¶ 30. This Court reviews de novo a trial court's ruling on a summary judgment motion. Williams v. Bennett, 921 So.2d 1269, 1271 (Miss.2006). The evidence must be considered in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Brown v. Credit Ctr., Inc., 444 So.2d 358, 362 (Miss.1983). [T]he pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, [must] show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Miss. R. Civ. P. 56(c). ¶ 31. Parker raised allegations of illegal affidavit voting, and each of the three affidavits which Moore asserts are unrelated describe facts indicative of fraudulent voting by Gardner. Tammy Chamblee relates from a conversation with her mother, Jean Eaves, how Gardner came to Eaves's home with an unsolicited ballot, sat beside Eaves as she voted it and carried Eaves's ballot with her when she left. The affidavits of Estelle Sullivan and Ottie Mae Criddle each claim that Gardner brought a ballot to her, marked the ballot, and she never saw the ballot again. As for the question of whether the affidavits are related to the allegations Parker raises, the affidavits clearly concern the occurrence of illegal affidavit voting in the primary. Therefore, this issue is without merit. IV. Whether the Special Tribunal Erroneously Ordered a Run-off of the Democratic Executive Committee When it Should Have in Fact Ordered a Special Election, to Be Called by the Governor and Conducted by the Municipal Election Commission under Miss.Code Ann. § 23-15-927 (Rev.2001) ¶ 32. The tribunal ordered a special primary run-off election between Moore and Parker. With regard to the decision of a special judicial tribunal, Mississippi Code Annotated Section 23-15-937 (Rev.2001) reads in pertinent part: [I]f the said judgment be in favor of the contestant, the election of the contestee shall thereby be vacated and the Governor, or the Lieutenant Governor in case the Governor be a party to the contest, shall call a special election for the office or offices involved, if the contestee has already entered upon the term he shall vacate the office upon the qualification of the person elected at said special election, and may be removed by quo warranto if he fail so to do. ¶ 33. This Court has previously found in a similar situation that Mississippi Code Annotated Section 23-15-937 (Rev.2001) controlled and required a special election. In Smith v. Hollins, 905 So.2d 1267 (Miss. 2005), Smith and Hollins were the only two candidates in the Democratic primary and in the entire county race for supervisor. Id. at 1269. Smith won the primary with 510 votes to Hollins's 499 votes. Id. at 1270. The special tribunal cast out votes it found to be illegal and counted only the legal votes, resulting in Hollins being declared the winner with 519 votes to Smith's 516 votes. Id. This Court held that Mississippi Code Annotated Section 23-15-937 (Rev.2001) governs special elections for contested primary elections. Smith, 905 So.2d at 1277. Pursuant to the statute, if the contestant prevails in an election contest and the contestee has already taken office, the appropriate remedy is that the Governor call a special election for the office. Id. The Court was reluctant to apply the statute for the reason Parker mentions, which is that only the primary winner's name would have been on the general election ballot. Id. Despite its reluctance, the Court applied the statute, declaring Smith the winner of the primary election and ordering a special election to be called for by the Governor. Id. at 1278. ¶ 34. This case is distinguishable from Smith only in that Smith was the clear winner of the primary after the number of legal votes was determined by the tribunal and Smith was found to have the majority. The result of the tribunal findings in this case is that neither primary candidate has a majority and thus, that a special primary run-off election is necessary. This distinction does not prevent the application of Mississippi Code Annotated Section 23-15-937 (Rev.2001), and accordingly, the office of mayor of the City of Houston shall be vacated and a special election shall be called by the Governor. The special tribunal erred in ordering a special primary run-off election to be held when it is statutorily mandated that the Governor call such election.