Byrd v. Short

This election contest involves the office of school director of Moro School District “B.” Short, as the only nominee on the printed ballot, received 89 votes, and Byrd received 182 write-in votes. Upon these returns the county board of election commissioners and the county court declared that Short had been elected without opposition. Ark. Stats. 1947, § 80-318. Byrd then brought suit in the circuit court to contest the election. The court held that the votes for Byrd could not be counted, because he had not given written notice of his intention to be a write-in candidate at least forty-eight…