Callison v. Peeples

Citations

• 102 S.C. 256
• 86 S.E. 635

Syllabus

<p>Counties. Elections. Certiorari. Issues. Conduct of Election.</p> <p>1. Elections—Canvassing Boards—Findings of Fact—Certiorari.— Unless there is testimony tending to support a finding of fact by a canvassing board, it becomes a question of law to be reviewed upon certiorari.</p> <p>la. Elections—State Board of Canvassers—Finding Conclusive.—A finding of fact by the State board of canvassers is not conclusive where there is no evidence to support the finding, or it is against the necessary inference from the facts, since the statute making the findings of the board conclusive presupposes that they must be supported by some evidence.</p> <p>2. Elections—Contests—Issues.—Where the decision of an election contest is governed by a principle of law, it is not proper for. the canvassing board to pass upon irrelevant questions of fact.</p> <p>3. Elections—New Counties—Voters.—In an election upon the question of the formation of a new county, opportunity must be given every qualified voter within the territorial area to be affected, to vote and express his preference for the new county or against it.</p> <p>3a. Counties—New Counts’ Election—'Qualified Voters—Exclusion.—Where in an election to decide the creation of a new county, under Const. 1895, art. VII, secs. 1, 2, the portions of all the townships to be included, except one, had no polling places, the exclusion of the qualified voters therein from voting was illegal.</p> <p>3b. Counties — New Counties — Election — Qualified Electors.-— Under Const. 1895, art. VII, secs. 1, 2, providing for the establishment of new counties by election by the qualified electors within the proposed area, all qualified electors within the territory to be included in the new county are entitled to vote on that question, and the legislature cannot deny that right by failing to provide a means of voting for such electors in a statute designed to carry out the constitutional provision.</p> <p>4. Counties.—The creation of a new county affec