Bechtel's Election Expenses

Citations

• 39 Pa. Super. 292
• 1909 Pa. Super. LEXIS 479

Syllabus

<p>Election law — Election expenses — Audit of candidates — Findings of fact — Amendment—Constitutional law — Costs—Evidence.</p> <p>1. The findings of fact of a judge sitting as an auditor of the account of a candidate’s election expenses will be given the same force and effect by the appellate court that would be given to similar findings by an auditing judge in the orphans’ court or a common pleas judge sitting in equity. In the absence of any manifest error on the part of the court below, the appellate court must accept the facts as found.</p> <p>2. At the audit of a candidate’s expense account, evidence that a person to whom the candidate intrusted money to be spent in a legal way, spent such money in an illegal way, is inadmissible where there is no offer to show that the illegal expenditure was made with the knowledge and consent of the candidate.</p> <p>3. Where a witness for the petitioners for an audit of a candidate’s account, has testified in his examination in chief that he had had no conversation with the candidate, and had received no money from him, the witness cannot on cross-examination be questioned as to statements of a contrary character made by him to other parties when the candidate was not present.</p> <p>4. At the audit of a candidate’s election account the auditing judge may in his discretion permit an amendment so as to enable the candidate to file receipts omitted from the account, and to place on the record the names of certain canvassers omitted from the account.</p> <p>5. Under the Act of March 5, 1906, P. L. 78, known as “The Corrupt Practices Act,” a candidate may intrust money to another person and authorize him to act as his agent or representative in the expenditure of money for proper purposes in the election campaign.</p> <p>6. Where a candidate shows in his account an item of considerable amount intrusted to another to be expended for lawful campaign purposes, but fails to set out in the account the purposes for which the money