Commonwealth v. Hafer

Citations

• 22 Pa. Super. 107
• 1903 Pa. Super. LEXIS 166

Syllabus

<p>Election law—Primary elections—Making false returns—Act of June 29, 1881, P. L. 128—Criminal law.</p> <p>An indictment under the Act of June 29,1881, P. L. 128, which charges that the defendant as the judge of a primary election did “ then and there unlawfully, wilfully and fraudulently make false returns, and was then and there concerned in the making of false returns of the number of duly qualified electors, and the number of votes cast,” is not bad for duplicity; nor can it be quashed on the ground that it does not aver that the defendant was sworn as a judge of election.</p> <p>Where the votes at a primary election have been properly cast and counted, but the returns have been altered after they were certified by the election officers, the judge of the election may be convicted of making a false return by giving effect to the alteration by handing the returns to the county chairman, although he may not himself have made the alteration.</p>