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7 Cow. 153

Ex parte Murphy

New York Supreme Court

Decided May 15, 1827

New York Supreme Court · decided 1827-05-15

annual election of the corporation of St. Peter’s church in the city of New York, in April last, holden for the choice of 4 trustees, 8 persons were voted for, 4 of w^om ^5- 102 votes, and four, 100. The voting was by ballot. The inspectors having certified that the four having 102 votes, were duly elected, a motion was now made for leave to file an information in nature of a quo warranto *against them, as unduly elected.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1827-05-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 10 later decisions — most recently July 1945

10 state decisions

301827183018401850186018701880189019001910192019301940decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Curia.

¶1The motion must be denied, For aught that appears, the spurious ballots were for the ticket which, was in the minority. To warrant setting aside the election, it must appear affirmatively, that the successful ticket received a number of improper votes, which, if rejected, would have brought it down to a minority. The mere circumstance that improper votes are received will not vitiate an election. If this were otherwise; hardly an election in the state could be sustained. [1]

¶2Motion denied.

¶3(1) If a presiding officer or judge of an election, acting honestly, from the best judgment he can form on the evidence before him, takes a vote which turns out to be an illegal vote, of refuses a vote which turns out to be a legal one, he is not liable therefor. The State v. M'Donald, 4 Harring. 555; The State v. Porter, 4 Harring. 556. If a vote is challenged, and two of the judges concur in rejecting it as an illegal vote, the presiding officer has no right to receive it; and if he does receive it, and it turns out to be an illegal vote, it would be evidence of corruption. The State v. M'Donald, 4 Harring 555. See Waterman’s Archbold’s Cr. Law. Vol. III. p. 623, et seq.

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