Opinion ID: 2246860
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Allegedly Lost Ballot

Text: The appellee asserts that the trial court erred in deducting one ballot for her which was lost before the recount. The appellee states that the parties stipulated to the chain of custody of the ballots in all precincts except Maine township precinct 23. In this precinct, 160 ballots were counted on election night, but only 159 ballots were found at the recount. The appellee argues that, because the appellant filed the petition for election contest, she had the burden of proving that the ballots counted on election night were properly preserved until the day of the recount. The appellee argues that, because the parties' stipulations expressly excluded any foundation concerning the authenticity of the ballots in precinct 23, the appellant was required to establish that ballots in that precinct were properly preserved before the recount results could be received into evidence. The appellant responds that she was not required to establish a foundation for admission of the recount results in precinct 23, because the appellee stipulated to the vote count change in that precinct. Petitioner further argues that the appellee waived this issue by failing to object in the trial court. The returns of the election officials are prima facie evidence of the result of the election. The ballots, however, are the original evidence of the votes cast. In an election contest, the court may accept the ballots cast at the election as better evidence of the result than the election returns if those ballots have been properly preserved. ( Armbrust v. Starkey (1954), 3 Ill.2d 131, 133, 119 N.E.2d 910; MacWherter v. Turner (1964), 52 Ill.App.2d 270, 273, 201 N.E.2d 325.) The contestant, as the moving party, bears the burden of proving that the ballots have been kept intact. ( MacWherter, 52 Ill.App.2d at 273, 201 N.E.2d 325.) If the evidence discloses that the ballots were exposed to the reach of unauthorized persons, and the returns are not likewise discredited, the ballots will not be regarded as better evidence of the result of the election. If the evidence shows that there was no reasonable opportunity for tampering with the ballots, however, they are the best evidence of the result of the election. MacWherter, 52 Ill.App.2d at 273, 201 N.E.2d 325. The question of whether the ballots have been properly preserved is a question of fact to be determined from the evidence. The contestant may satisfy her burden of proof by introducing evidence that the election officials preserved the ballots according to the statutory requirements. Even where the statutory provisions are not complied with, however, the contestant may nevertheless prevail, since the preservation requirements are directory only. ( Armbrust v. Starkey (1954), 3 Ill.2d 131, 119 N.E.2d 910.) Once the trial court receives the ballots into evidence for consideration, the rules regarding ballot preservation cease, and the sole question before the court becomes whether those ballots are legal or illegal. Wood v. Hartman (1942), 381 Ill. 474, 480, 45 N.E.2d 864; Lisk v. Benjamin (1982), 105 Ill. App.3d 51, 60 Ill.Dec. 916, 433 N.E.2d 1154. The parties here stipulated that all ballots sought to be admitted into evidence at trial had been preserved from election night to their presentation in court and that the foundation for admitting the ballots into evidence had been established. One of the parties wrote in longhand at the end of this stipulation, however, the caveat except as to Maine 23. In that precinct, 160 votes were counted on election night. Pursuant to the court order, the ballots in all precincts were recounted. The ballots in Maine township precinct 23 were counted three times, twice by computer and once by hand. The first computer recount showed that a total of 159 Republican ballots were cast, while a second computer recount showed a total of 160 ballots. A final recount, conducted by hand, showed a total of 159 Republican ballots. The appellant concedes that the appellee did not stipulate to the preservation of ballots in Maine township precinct 23. She argues however, that it was not necessary to establish a foundation for introduction of those ballots, or to demonstrate that the ballots were properly preserved, because Mulligan stipulated to a vote count change in all precincts, including Maine township precinct 23. She argues that the trial court properly gave effect to this stipulation and accepted the vote tallies on recount as correct. Mulligan argues that the trial court erred in accepting the recount total. She argues that the parties entered into the stipulation regarding the vote count change only to reflect what was found at the recount. She argues that the parties did not intend for this stipulation to have any legal effect. Basically, the appellee is arguing that the recount results in Maine township precinct 23 were not properly admitted into evidence, because the appellant failed to establish a proper foundation for that evidence by showing that the ballots which were recounted were properly preserved. The record shows, however, that the evidence of the recount results in all of the precincts was received into evidence, when the parties stipulated that the recount resulted in a vote change, with Pullen gaining 1 vote and Mulligan losing 30 votes. The appellee cannot on appeal complain of evidence which she has stipulated into the record. ( People v. Hawkins (1963), 27 Ill.2d 339, 189 N.E.2d 252; People v. Stribling (1982), 104 Ill.App.3d 969, 60 Ill.Dec. 729, 433 N.E.2d 967.) The appellee did not object at trial to the recount results on the ground that these results reflected a change in Maine township precinct 23, and that such a change could not be considered without evidence that the ballots were preserved. The appellee also did not object when the trial court entered an order on July 16, 1990, in which it accepted the recapitulation of the vote tallies upon the recount, showing a net gain of one vote for Pullen and a loss of thirty votes for Mulligan, as correct. In view of the stipulations in the record, and the appellee's failure to object when the court gave those stipulations legal effect, we must reject the appellee's claim that the trial court erred in not relying upon the election night results as to Maine township precinct 23.