Court Opinion

ID: 9581129
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:11:56.569916+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:36:43.771179
License: Public Domain

WAHL, Justice
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent. In the first place it is not clear to me on the record before this court, including the documentary evidence, that the contestant has proved by a fair preponderance of the evidence that the Hilary sample ballot contains a false claim implying that Hilary had the support or endorsement of the DFL Party in violation of Minn.Stat. § 210A.02 (1982). The question is a close one. The sample ballot is similar in style and format to the official DFL Sample Ballot distributed in the Third Ward in other years. It is labeled OFFICIAL SAMPLE/BALLOT but is identical to the “OFFICIAL SAMPLE BALLOT” which was distributed by Jackie Slater, an unendorsed candidate in the Sixth Ward aldermanic primary election in 1977, without complaint and allegedly with approval of an unidentified county attorney. It identifies Hilary and Anderson as DFL’ers. Hilary is a DFL’er, a term which the district court determined could reasonably be interpreted as meaning member of the DFL Party, and has a right to identify herself as such. Schmitt v. McLaughlin, 275 N.W.2d 587 (Minn.1979). She also has a right to use a sample ballot. As the district court recognized, no major political party or other organization has an exclusive monopoly on use of sample ballots, particular colors, style or format of campaign literature. On the other hand, no candidate has the right, under our Fair Campaign Practices Act, to imply an endorsement he or she does not have. Had this sample ballot been labeled HILARY SAMPLE BALLOT the question would not even be close. As it is, the ballot on its face clearly sets out for the voters of the Third Ward the fact that it is prepared and paid for by Hilary’s neighbors and is not distributed by the Minnesota DFL State Central Committee. This is not the disclaimer of one who wants the voters to believe that she has the DFL endorsement nor is it a disclaimer which the politically knowledgeable and intelligent electorate of the Third Ward would have ignored or misconstrued.1 Therefore, though the sample ballot was intentionally *833prepared and distributed and, in if violation of § 210A.02, constituted a deliberate, serious and material violation, I do not find that it contains or implies a false claim of DFL endorsement which the candidate did not have.
Furthermore, under the standard of review of this court, the conclusion of the district court that the contestant failed to prove by a fair preponderance of the evidence that the violation found by the district court occurred by reason of lack of good faith is not clearly erroneous. In Matter of Ryan, 303 N.W.2d 462 (Minn.1981) this court reached out without any specific analysis of the record and reversed the district court’s decision that the appellant in that case had acted in bad faith. Now, in this case, with a record replete with evidence of good faith, we reverse the district court’s finding of good faith.
The evidence of good faith before the district court came, not only from documents which we can examine equally well, see In re Trust Known as Great Northern Iron Ore Properties, 308 Minn. 221, 225, 243 N.W.2d 302, 305 (1976), but also from witnesses whose credibility was for the trier of fact. The district court, in considering the question of good faith, noted the following evidence, which we, too, have ascertained in the record:
During the course of the campaign ... the campaign manager obtained the most current pamphlet available from the Secretary of State’s office regarding elections. The booklet failed to contain annotations regarding either Schmitt or Ryan. Notwithstanding, [the campaign manager] did admit some knowledge of the cases but ultimately submitted the matter to ‘their attorney’ for evaluation and approval before printing the sample ballot. There was direct testimony that a sample ballot was campaign literature that had been used in other campaigns, namely, the Jackie Slater aldermanic primary contest, without complaint and allegedly with approval of an unidentified county attorney. The initials DFL had been modified with an apostrophe followed by “ers.” Although perhaps not without doubt, the modification grammatically would indicate member of the DFL. The disclaimer and/or identification of the organization responsible for the literature was printed in 12-point type, substantially larger type than is customarily used on campaign literature or was used on the DFL Sample Ballot in this primary contest. Although the reference to the DFL Central Committee might be somewhat obscure to the average voter, the organization responsible for the DFL Sample Ballot was in fact the DFL Central Committee. Permission was obtained from Nancy L. Anderson, endorsed candidate for Park Board at Large, to add her name to the sample ballot. Only Hilary was highlighted on the sample ballot in yellow. (Memorandum of the district court, pp. 8-9).
In light of the above evidence, the determination by the district court that any violation by Hilary was occasioned by accidental miscalculation and not by reason of any lack of good faith is not clearly erroneous. I would affirm.

. It is to be noted that the voters of the Third Ward were the recipients not only of the Hilary OFFICIAL SAMPLE BALLOT but of two official DFL sample ballots as well, one mailed to each household, the other hand-delivered to each household.