Opinion ID: 1314181
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Elections Contest

Text: On December 19, 1991, respondents, unsuccessful candidates in the consolidated elections, filed suit to contest the election results pursuant to section 20021. [3] The complaint alleged: (1) appellants had given or offered bribes to electors; (2) appellants had committed offenses against the elective franchise; and (3) illegal votes were cast sufficient to change the results of the elections. Trial lasted five days, during which numerous witnesses testified and various documents were admitted into evidence. In addition to the findings of fact set forth above, the trial court made further findings concerning evidence of fraud and tampering, and other violations against the elective franchise, respecting ballots that were ultimately disqualified by clerk's challenge. These included, among others: That the testimony of one elector of the West Fresno/Washington Union School Districts established she had not signed the absentee ballot application, nor the envelope for the ballot, which had been sent to one of the BAPAC addresses and returned to the clerk with signatures purporting to be hers. Another elector of those districts testified through an interpreter that a person came to his home, urged him to sign for the schools, and further advised him it was all right for his daughter to sign the absentee ballot application for him. The clerk's record established the ballot had been processed through BAPAC's VEP. That the testimony of an elector from the Orange Center/Washington Union School Districts established three people came to his home late one night, told him for whom to vote, and were emphatic that he not seal his ballot. They returned when only his wife was home and, discovering he had not signed the ballot, instructed her to sign her husband's name for him. This ballot was shown to have been processed through BAPAC. That testimony of an elector of the West Park/Washington Union School Districts established he never completed an application for an absentee ballot, but recalled someone coming to his door requesting he sign a petition for a free breakfast program. Election records showed an absentee ballot had thereafter been mailed, ostensibly on his behalf, to a BAPAC address. That testimony of an elector of the West Fresno/Washington Union School Districts established candidate Mary Bess and Leroy Brown brought an absentee ballot to the elector's home, and that Brown completed her ballot for her. The witness denied she had either consented to this procedure, instructed Brown to vote her ballot, or been consulted by Brown concerning the choices made on her ballot. [4] The trial court's written findings further noted the testimony of the manager of a local copy shop. BAPAC representatives had requested his shop to reproduce a large number of what were purportedly sample ballots; he in turn informed them he could not print the document, suggesting they instead contact the State of California. [5] The trial court concluded BAPAC was in fact an admitted political organization, that through the auspices of the VEP it had assisted defendant-candidates in their campaigns by providing and distributing materials and furnishing access to information concerning voters, and that [t]his assistance was not provided all candidates and would have been denied certain candidates even if requested. In this manner, BAPAC assisted in the election of defendants to non-political offices. In addition to the certified election results reported above ( ante, at p. 270), the following statistical facts, among others, regarding the illegal absentee ballots that were counted, and those which were disqualified by clerk's challenge, were established from official election records and other testimony and evidence adduced at trial: The Fresno County Clerk Elections Department mailed a total of 1,292 absentee ballots to the BAPAC addresses. Of those, 269 were never returned to the elections department in any form, and BAPAC was unable to account with any degree of reliability for the disposition of those 269 nonreturned ballots. Of the remaining 1,023 absentee ballots that were sent to BAPAC and returned to the elections department, 93 were disqualified by clerk's challenge, 63 of those on the basis of invalid signatures. Based on the advice of county counsel and the office of the Secretary of State, the remaining 930 absentee ballots were removed from their envelopes and counted. As explained below, all 930 ballots were illegal. It is now impossible to distinguish these 930 illegal absentee ballots from the remaining valid ballots cast in the consolidated elections. The percentages of illegal ballots cast in each of the school district contests (obtained by dividing the number of illegal-but-counted BAPAC ballots by the total number of ballots counted in each district) were as follows: Orange Center Elementary, 70/173 = 40 percent; Pacific Union Elementary, 310/632 = 49 percent; West Fresno Elementary, 369/509 = 72 percent; West Park Elementary, 76/176 = 43 percent; and Washington Union High School, 930/2224 = 42 percent. The trial court determined there had been fraud and tampering with respect to the 93 ballots disqualified by clerk's challenge. It further found the remaining 930 absentee ballots from BAPAC were cast in violation of sections 1006 (address to which ballot is to be mailed must be personally affixed by voter and may not be a political campaign headquarters) and 1013 (requiring absentee voter to personally mail or return ballot to official from whom it came or precinct board at any polling place), were therefore illegal, and could not be counted. It recognized it could not determine with certainty how the illegal ballots were cast, and thus could not deduct the illegal votes from the defendants to see who received a majority of lawful votes for each office. (§§ 20024, 20087.) But the court, after careful consideration of the competing factors, including the wholesale violation of the mandatory requirements of the absentee voting laws in this case, concluded the evidence showed the great majority of illegal-but-counted BAPAC ballots were voted for the defendants, and had been sufficient to affect the election of many of them. It annulled the consolidated elections pursuant to section 20086, [6] and ordered new elections held forthwith, concluding [a]nything less, under these facts, would result in a loss of public respect for and diminution of the integrity of the absentee ballot process and would tend to encourage even greater abuse of the process in future elections. The Court of Appeal found substantial evidence supported the trial court's factual findings regarding the illegal ballots. It nonetheless concluded the results of the consolidated elections could not be set aside because it could not be determined for whom the illegal ballots were cast. The court focused on the command of section 20024, which states: An election shall not be set aside on account of illegal votes, unless it appears that a number of illegal votes has been given to the person whose right to the office is contested or who has been certified as having tied for first place, which, if taken from him, would reduce the number of his legal votes below the number of votes given to some other person for the same office, after deducting therefrom the illegal votes which may be shown to have been given to that other person. The Court of Appeal reasoned, Even assuming in these circumstances it could be calculated how many votes were cast on each illegal ballot, in what district they were cast and in what proportion they were cast, any attempt to apportion pro rata must still meet the test of section 20024. [¶] It would be futile for this court to remand for further findings. It is clear from the findings and the record before us it would be impossible to find, by clear and convincing evidence, that the illegal votes were cast for the contestees in this case. [¶] Indeed, it is obvious to this court it would be impossible in any multi-issue or multi-candidate primary or general election to determine the effect of illegal voting of the type and extent at issue here. Once illegal ballots are cast and commingled with the legal ballots, they cannot be traced to reveal for whom they were cast. The irony of this conclusion was not lost on the Court of Appeal, which concluded: The violations of election laws pertaining to absentee balloting in this case were pervasive and significant, yet the very nature and extent of the illegal voting renders any remedy illusory. The court is constrained by the statutory limitation on the authority to annul and set aside the election based upon illegal votes.