Duncan v. Willis’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

77 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 79 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““The receiving of testimony from the voter as to his intention cannot be supported upon the theory adopted by the trial court. Gunn’s ballot was not mere ly ambiguous but wholly void. It would be anomalous to say that a vote which an election judge must necessarily reject could be accepted as a legal vote by a district judge trying an election contest upon the say so and perhaps afterthought of the voter who cast the defective and contradictory ballot. While it is a rule of general application that the will of the voter should prevail, the election code specifically provides the means whereby the voter shall make that intention known and one of the ways not provided by the code is to testify how he intended to vote—after the election is over. The books reflect repeated warnings of the dangers of this practice. In Davis v. State ex rel. Wren, 75 Tex. 420 , 12 S.W. 957, 960 (1889), Mr. Justice Gaines in discussing the public policy considerations relative to this procedure said: ‘The declarations of the voters Albert S. Payne and Lewis Jackson, made after the election, were properly excluded. Upon this question we have no doubt. * * * Besides, we think the admission of such testimony would contravene a sound public policy. It would open a door to fraud to permit a voter who may have changed his mind as to his choice of candidates, and who may have become dissatisfied as to the declared result, to affect the determination of a contest by his declarations.’ ” (Emphasis in origina”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Babnew v. Linneman

2. ““We know from common experience that those who do vote are usually unwilling that the character of their votes be made public, and that whenever there is an investigation as to the actual vote cast it is almost certain to bring about prevarication and uncertainty as to what the truth is; and while in this case before us no special reasons exist for casting reflections upon the truth of those who participated in the election, yet, it is deemed unwise to lay down any rule by which the certainty and accuracy of an election may be jeopardized by the reliance upon any proof affecting such results that is not of the most clear and conclusive character. The temptation to actual fraud and corruption on the part of the candidates and their political supporters is never so great as when it is known precisely how many votes it will take to change the result, and men who are willing to sell their votes before election will quite as readily sell their testimony afterwards, especially as the means of detecting perjury and falsehood is not always at hand until after the wrong sought to be accomplished by it has become successful, and the honest will of the people has been thwarted.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Babnew v. Linneman

3. ““The declarations of a voter after he has voted, and after the election has closed, in regard to his qualification, are not in derogation of any existing right, and consequently cannot be treated as a declaration against interest. Besides, we think the admission of such testimony would contravene a sound public policy. It would open a door to fraud to permit a voter who may have changed his mind as to his choice of candidates, and who may have become dissatisfied as to the declared result, to affect the determination of a contest by his declarations. We understand the great weight of authority to be in accordance with this ruling.””

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Zuniga v. Almaraz