Thompson v. Jones
| Docket Number: | 2007-EC-01989-SCT | |
| Supreme Court: | Opinion Link Opinion Date: 11-13-2008 Opinion Author: Smith, C.J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Election contest - Illegal votes - M.R.A.P. 10(f) - Judicial notice - M.R.E. 201 - Writ of election - Section 23-15-937 Judge(s) Concurring: Waller, P.J., Carlson, Dickinson and Randolph, JJ. Non Participating Judge(s): Easley and Lamar, JJ. Dissenting Author : Diaz, P.J., and Graves, J., without separate written opinion. Procedural History: Admin or Agency Judgment; Bench Trial Nature of the Case: CIVIL - ELECTION CONTEST |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 11-02-2007 Appealed from: Coahoma County Circuit Court Judge: Frank G. Vollor Disposition: The Election Commission and Special Circuit Judge Frank G. Vollor ordered a special election to be held for the office of Coahoma County Sheriff. Case Number: 14-CI-07-0117 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | Andrew Thompson, Jr. |
W. Ellis Pittman; Curt Crowley |
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| Appellee: | Charles Lewis Jones | Richard T. Phillips; Parker H. Still | ||
Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Election contest - Illegal votes - M.R.A.P. 10(f) - Judicial notice - M.R.E. 201 - Writ of election - Section 23-15-937 |
| Summary of the Facts: | The Democratic Party Primary election for Coahoma County Sheriff listed six candidates including Andrew Thompson, Jr., the incumbent, and Charles Lewis Jones. In that primary 6,234 votes were cast and of these votes Thompson received 3,110 votes (49.89%), and Jones received 2,000 votes (32.08%). After tallying the absentee and affidavit ballots, the total results of the primary were: Thompson with 3,339 (50.16%) and Jones with 2,315 (31.51%). Thompson received a majority of the total votes by a margin of eleven votes or 0.16 percent. The Coahoma County Democratic Party Executive Committee certified Thompson the winner of the election. Jones filed a primary election contest. Inspection of the absentee ballots revealed that, of the absentee votes counted, 124 votes were defective. The circuit court held that the irregularities with the absentee ballots required that the results of the election and the certification thereof be vacated, and a special election be held. Thompson appeals. Governor Barbour thereafter issued a Writ of Election calling for both a special primary election and a special general election. In an order by the trial court, the Writ of Election was stayed. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | A special election is proper when enough illegal votes were cast for the contestee to change the result of the election and if the disqualified votes make it impossible to discern the will of the voters. The illegality of the votes depend on the statute of the Election Code which they violate. If the violated statute does not expressly state that a particular act is essential to the election’s validity or that omission of the particular act will render the election void, the statute is considered directory rather than mandatory, so long as the irregular act is not intended to affect the integrity of the election. Mere technical irregularities in the casting of a ballot are not grounds for invalidation absent evidence of fraud or intentional wrongdoing. The violations that occurred in this case resulted from a failure to comply with the mandatory requirements of the Election Code. Upon violation of a mandatory statutory requirement, the vote is deemed illegal. Of the 103 absentee ballots in the election for Sheriff of Coahoma County, the blanks where the signatures were to be found were, in fact, blank. The absence of those signatures makes those 103 votes illegal. In an election where there are illegal votes, only the illegal votes are dismissed and the election is determined by the remaining legal votes. In this case, removal of the illegal absentee votes from the legal absentee votes was not possible. The contested absentee ballots were commingled with the uncontested absentee ballots. Thompson only won a majority by eleven votes, which included illegal votes. How many of the 103 illegal votes were cast for him is unknown. Neither Thompson nor Jones included information about the occurrence of the general election in either of their briefs. While parties on appeal may not add to the record under M.R.A.P. 10(f), the Court may take judicial notice of an adjudicative fact, pursuant to M.R.E. 201, that a general election was held and that Thompson was the winner of that general election. The fact that the general election for sheriff took place is both common knowledge in the jurisdiction of the trial court and capable of accurate and ready determination. In the Writ of Election, Governor Barbour ordered a special primary runoff election to determine the winner between Thompson and Jones. After the Democratic candidate is decided, a special general election is to be held between the Democratic candidate and the previously qualified Independent candidate. The Writ of Election violates section 23-15-937. Under this statute, only one special election is to be held after the general election has already occurred. |
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