Stembridge v. Newton

Duckworth, Chief Justice.

Unintelligible, illegal, and blank ballots should not be counted in computing the number of votes cast in an election, since a ballot can not become a valid vote unless it conforms to the requirements of law. 18 Am. Jur. 342, § 246; 29 C. J. S. 257, § 175. Therefore, an undecipherable ballot is a mere nullity, and the fallacy of allowing such ballots as votes is abundantly clear in the instant case, where this would result in such ballots being counted as votes against approval of the act rather than as undeterminable ballots.

Counsel for the plaintiff in error…