Opinion ID: 1364196
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: the taylor west incident

Text: The superior court erred in concluding that malconduct committed by virtue of Taylor West's handling of approximately 2,000 questioned ballots should be considered, in determining whether there was cumulative malconduct sufficient to change the result of the primary election. Taylor West, age seventeen, was employed by the Division of Elections as a full-time election clerk from June 12 to August 29, 1978. On the evening of August 22, 1978, he was working in the computer counting center at 5700 Tudor Road, in Anchorage. At approximately 10:00 p.m., in the performance of his official duties, West took possession of some 2,000 questioned ballots which were to be transported from the computer center to the Anchorage elections office. West placed the ballots, contained in two large bags, in his car. He then drove to his place of residence where he parked and locked the vehicle, leaving the ballots in it overnight. At approximately 7:00 a.m. the next morning West returned to the car. He found it still locked and the contents appeared to be undisturbed. He then drove to the elections office where he again parked and locked the car. The ballots were left in the car until later in the morning, when they were unloaded and taken into the elections office by West. The superior court found that West and his supervisors were guilty of malconduct in the handling of these ballots, in that they failed to provide adequate security against possible tampering, thereby destroying public confidence in the election process. The court concluded that such action constitutes a significant deviation from any conceivable norm of ballot security within the clear thrust of [the election code] and is malconduct. We agree with the conclusion that West's handling of the questioned ballots was malconduct, and hold accordingly. However, we disagree with the superior court's further conclusion that such malconduct should be considered in determining whether there was cumulative malconduct sufficient to change the result of the primary election. The superior court found: (1) that there was no evidence that the ballots had been disturbed or tampered with during the time they were in West's custody, (2) that West's possession of the ballots was technically lawful under AS 15.55.050 and AS 15.60.010(13), and (3) that there was no reason to invalidate them. We agree. Such being the case, we fail to understand how the malconduct connected with this particular incident could contribute in any way to change the result of the election.