People ex rel. Elliot v. Kaiser

This application involves an interesting and important question under the new Ballot Beform Act, chap. 262, of the Laws of 1890.

According to Mr. Elliot’s understanding of the law, or the view of his counsel, the chief of these purposes is the selection of other candidates for the other offices to be filled, whose names shall be placed upon the same ballot with that of the independent candidate for supervisor, Mr. Nagle. Mr. Elliot has therefore notified the county clerk that he approves the placing of certain other names, which he specifies, upon Mr.Nagle’s ballot; all of them being names of candidates previously duly put in nomination for the offices indicated. The county clerk refuses to file the written approval tendered to him by Mr. Elliot, and declines to print any name but that of Mr. Nagle upon his ballot; and the independent candidate, together with the representative of the signers of the certificate by which he was nominated, now apply for a peremptory writ of mandamus to compel the clerk to place the approved names upon the ticket.

Section 5 of the Ballot Reform Act relates to nominations other than by party organizations, and prescribes the requisites of the certificates by which such nominations can be made. After fixing the minimum number of signers for the several classes of offices, and declaring that the signatures need not all be appended to one paper, it goes on to provide that the certificate “ may designate and appoint upon the face thereof one or more persons who for the purposes set forth in § 17 of this act shall represent the signers of said certificate.”

In the present case it is conceded that Mr. Elliot has been duly designated and appointed under the provision to represent the signers of the certificate nominating Mr. Nagle for supervisor of the Second ward. But what does the law authorize him to do as their representative ? This is the question upon which the case turns, and to answer it we must look at the 17th section of the statute, inasmuch as it is only for the purposes set forth in that section that the person designated in the certificate by virtue of the provisions above quoted from § 5 is empowered to act for the signers at all.

Section 17 relates to the contents of the ballots, the different kinds to be prepared and the style of printing.

It refers in two places to the action which may be taken by the duly appointed agent of the signers of an independent certitificate of nomination. The first and most significant provision on this subject is in these words:

“But no name or names of any candidate or candidates shall be placed upon a ticket put in nomination by certificate, as provided for in § 5, except the name or names specified in said certificate of nomination, without the written approval of the person or persons designated and appointed in said certificates as provided in that section, but such approval shall be made at least twelve days

I think the two provisions which I have quoted from § 17 clearly indicate the functions of a person who is duly designated by the signers of an independent certificate of nomination to represent them, “ for the purpose set forth ” in that section. The plain import of the prohibition against placing any other names upon the ticket of the independent candidate without the approval of the designated representative of the signers is that such representative may select a name to be placed thereon. In so doing he does not make new nominations, for I think he must confine his choice to candidates previously nominated in accordance with the law, but from among these he is allowed entire freedom of selection. Unless this is the meaning of the provisions under consideration, it is difficult to perceive what they do mean. Ho other interpretation has been suggested which seems even plausible. There is nothing in the objection of the county clerk that each candidate whose name is thus put upon the ticket at the instance of the authorized representative of the certificate signers must signify his acceptance of the nomination made in this particular manner; or in the further point that the certificate in the present case must be signed by a thousand voters in order to warrant the representative of the signers in demanding that the name of a candidate heretofore nominated for the office of associate judge of the court of appeals shall be placed thereon. As has already been intimated, the representative of the certificate signers, in giving his written approval of the placing of other names upon the ballot, cannot and does not make any new nomination. He merely chooses associates for the independent candidate out of the entire list of nominees for other offices already in the field. That it was the intention of the legislature to allow him to do this is apparent from the language of the statute; and the application of the relators for a peremptory writ of mandamus must, therefore, be granted.