Murphy v. State Canvassing Bd.
Decision Date | 13 October 2000 |
Docket Number | No. 00-252.,00-252. |
Citation | 12 P.3d 677 |
Parties | Nyla MURPHY, Jacqueline Muller, Daryl Raymond, Teri Carroll, and Kristin Smith, Appellants (Plaintiffs), v. STATE CANVASSING BOARD and Secretary of State, Appellees (Defendants). |
Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Representing Appellant: Tim Newcomb of Grant & Newcomb, Laramie, WY.
Representing Appellee: Gay Woodhouse, Wyoming Attorney General; and Rowena L. Heckert, Deputy Attorney General.
Before LEHMAN, C.J., and THOMAS, GOLDEN, HILL, and KITE, JJ.
The certified questions presented by this case raise the issue of whether a person who was defeated in a primary election as a candidate of one party, but who simultaneously received sufficient write-in votes in the separate primary election of the other party, has the right to appear on the general election ballot. We conclude that since the Wyoming Election Code of 1973 does not specifically prohibit such a result, the State Canvassing Board should have certified the person as a candidate.
On September 19, 2000, we agreed to answer the following certified questions:
Given the need for a determination by October 16, 2000, of whether Murphy's name should appear on the general election ballot so that the Albany County Clerk can print it, we have expedited this matter.
When we interpret the meaning of statutory provisions:
.
Campbell County School District v. Catchpole, 6 P.3D 1275, 1284 (Wyo.2000).
The parties have stipulated to the following facts:
Nyla Murphy (Murphy) and the individual electors named above filed a complaint in the district court for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief challenging the State Canvassing Board's (the Board) decision not to certify her as the Democratic candidate for State Senate District 10 in the November 2000 general election.
In response to a joint motion by Murphy and the Board, the district court agreed to certify two questions to this Court while retaining jurisdiction to rule on Murphy's motion for injunctive relief. On September 14, 2000, the district court issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Board from enforcing its decision.
The United States Supreme Court has long recognized that the right to vote is a fundamental one. Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections, 383 U.S. 663, 667-68, 86 S.Ct. 1079, 1081-82, 16 L.Ed.2d 169 (1966). The Court has, however, consistently allowed the states to impose reasonable restrictions on that right. Munro v. Socialist Workers Party, 479 U.S. 189, 193-95, 107 S.Ct. 533, 536-37, 93 L.Ed.2d 499 (1986). Wyoming has long interpreted statutes that confer or extend the elective franchise liberally. Rasmussen v. Baker, 7 Wyo. 117, 50 P. 819, 821 (1897). Indeed, we have recognized that the "right to vote is a fundamental right entitled to the strict protection of the courts." Brimmer v. Thomson, 521 P.2d 574, 578 (Wyo. 1974). The flip side of the right to vote is the right to run for office. This Court has noted that the citizens of this state "certainly have a genuine and existing right to ... seek election for public office for which they have proper qualifications." Brimmer, 521 P.2d at 578.
Within this context, the election laws provide four ways by which a person's name may appear on the general election ballot as a candidate for a partisan office: by convention, nomination by petition, nomination by primary election, and by write-in. In this case, we are only concerned with the latter two methods. To secure nomination for a partisan office through a primary election, a person must be a registered member of the party from which nomination is sought and must file an application with the secretary of state and pay the appropriate fees. Wyo. Stat.Ann. §§ 22-5-204, -206 and 208 (LEXIS 1999).
Wyoming's primary system is a closed one. In order to vote at a primary, electors must declare their party affiliation or sign an application to change their party affiliation to the one in whose primary they wish to vote before they can secure a ballot. Wyo.Stat. Ann. § 22-5-212 (LEXIS 1999). Electors may vote only in the primary for which they have declared an affiliation. Id.
In contrast, to secure a nomination as a write-in candidate, a person's name must not otherwise appear on the official ballot as a candidate for the office for which his or her name is written in by the voter, and that person must receive at least twenty-five write-in votes in order to appear on the general election ballot. Wyo.Stat.Ann. §§ 22-1-102(a)(xxxv); 22-5-215 (LEXIS 1999).
In this case, Murphy registered as a Republican Party candidate and sought the Senate District 10 seat through the primary election. She was unsuccessful in that endeavor. However, she did receive the requisite number of write-in votes in the separate Democratic primary for the same elective office. As the Board acknowledges, there is nothing in the statutes prohibiting this result. For instance, a write-in vote is valid only if it is cast "for a person whose name does not otherwise appear on the official ballot as a candidate for the office for which his name is written by the voter." Wyo.Stat. Ann. § 22-1-102(a)(xxxv). It is undisputed that Murphy's name did not appear on the official Democratic primary ballot. The statutes do prohibit a person from seeking the nomination for a partisan office unless he or she is registered in the party from which nomination is sought. Wyo.Stat.Ann. § 22-5-204(b). The term "seek" is not defined. However, in its ordinary sense, "seek" means to "go in search of" or "to try to acquire or gain." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 1057 (10th ed.1998). Murphy did not seek the Democratic nomination for the Senate District 10 in the ordinary sense of the meaning; she sought the Republican nomination. Accordingly, Murphy has met all of the technical requirements set forth in the statutes to otherwise qualify for certification as a write-in candidate.
In the absence of specific, prohibitive statutory language, the Board contends that its decision to deny certification to Murphy is justified on the grounds of legislative intent. Pointing to the closed primary system, the Board argues that the legislature intended to limit general election candidates to the winners of the primaries. The Board adds that the electoral stat...
To continue reading
Request your trial-
Aland v. Mead
...Wyoming Board of Outfitters and Professional Guides v. Clark, 2001 WY 78, ¶ 12, 30 P.3d 36, [41] (Wyo.2001); Murphy v. State Canvassing Board, 12 P.3d 677, 679 (Wyo.2000). Moreover, we must not give a statute a meaning that will nullify its operation if it is susceptible of another interpre......
-
Mountain Cement Co. v. the South of Laramie Water & Sewer Dist.
...Wyoming Board of Outfitters and Professional Guides v. Clark, 2001 WY 78, ¶ 12, 30 P.3d 36, [41] (Wyo.2001); Murphy v. State Canvassing Board, 12 P.3d 677, 679 (Wyo.2000). Moreover, we must not give a statute a meaning that will nullify its operation if it is susceptible of another interpre......
-
In re Atws
...Wyoming Board of Outfitters and Professional Guides v. Clark , 2001 WY 78, ¶ 12, 30 P.3d 36, ¶ 12 (Wyo. 2001) ; Murphy v. State Canvassing Board , 12 P.3d 677, 679 (Wyo. 2000). Moreover, we must not give a statute a meaning that will nullify its operation if it is susceptible of another int......
-
BALL v. State of Wyo., S-09-165.
...Board of Outfitters and Professional Guides v. Clark, 2001 WY 78, ¶ 12, 30 P.3d 36, ¶ 12 (Wyo.2001); Murphy v. State Canvassing Board, 12 P.3d 677, 679 (Wyo.2000). Moreover, we must not give a statute a meaning that will nullify its operation if it is susceptible of another interpretation. ......