Sharpless v. Buckles

Citations

• 65 Kan. 838
• 70 P. 886
• 1902 Kan. LEXIS 147

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Mandamus — Office of the Writ. The only purpose of a writ of mandamus is to require the person to whom it is issued to perform some act which the law enjoins as a duty. The writ itself confers no power and creates no duty, and its only office is to command the exercise of a power already possessed, or the performance of a duty already imposed.</p> <p>2. -Duty of County Canvassing Board— When Mandamus will not He. The duty of a county canvassing board is ministerial only. ' If the election returns made to the county olerk are genuine and regular, the board has no other duty to perform than to make the footings and declare the result. Mandamus will not lie to require a county canvassing board to recanvass returns and exclude from the count certain votes because cast and returned under a law that is claimed to be unconstitutional, since the determination of such question is not a duty imposed on the board, nor within its power.</p>