Louden v. Thompson

In the general election of November, 1970, the contest for sheriff of Henderson County resulted in Joyce Louden, Republican and Daryl Thompson, Democrat, each receiving 1,869 votes as shown by the official canvas. The tie vote was resolved by lot in favor of Thompson and he was declared the winner of the election. Louden filed a petition to contest the election and Thompsons motion to dismiss the petition for failure to state a cause of action was denied. Thereafter Thompson answered the petition and included an affirmative defense based on the results of statutory discovery. After hearing…