Tripp v. Holder
Tripp v. Holder
Opinion of the Court
The parties stipulated that in the pri
While there are cases holding that an election will not be voided even though a poll officer was not qualified (see Ann., 1 ALR 1535, 1541; King v. Board of Education, 42 Ga. App. 563, 570 (156 SE 710), affirmed by an equally divided court in King v. Board of Education, 174 Ga. 685 (164 SE 52)), a different situation is presented here. This statute is not merely a prohibition relative to a candidate serving as a poll officer, but instead emphatically provides that a poll officer is ineligible to be a candidate. Thus, it deals imperatively with the qualifications of a candidate. While the plaintiff’s acting as a poll officer might not invalidate the primary at which he served, it would disqualify him to hold the office which was voted for at the primary. Hence, the effect is not to void the election but to disqualify the prospective candidate.
Code Ann. § 34-103 (r) (Ga. L. 1964, Ex. Sess., pp. 26, 28) provides: “The words ‘party nomination’ shall mean the selection by a political party, in accordance with the provisions of this Code, of a candidate for a public office authorized to be voted for at an election.” Regardless of whether the ordinary had authority to pass upon the plaintiff's qualifications (see Black v. Salter, Civil Action 2401, Middle District of Ga., now
Under the applicable provision of the Election Code the result of a primary or election may be contested for “malconduct, fraud or irregularity by any primary or election official or officials sufficient to change or place in doubt the result.” Code Ann. § 34-1703 (a) (Ga. L. 1964, Ex. Sess., pp. 26, 178). It is evident that the exclusion of the ineligible nominee would not have changed the results of the contested election or cast doubt upon its outcome.
The defendants expressly abandoned their cross appeal, complaining of the trial judge overruling their plea of res judicata, hence there will be no consideration of this issue.
Judgment on main appeal affirmed; cross appeal dismissed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.