[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 2, Chapters 7 - 9] [Chapter 9. Election Contests] [E. Practice and Procedure] [§ 18. Commencing the Contest] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov] [Page 1025-1027] CHAPTER 9 Election Contests E. PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Sec. 18. Commencing the Contest Under the Federal Contested Elections Act, the contest is initiated by a notice of contest which is filed with the Clerk and served on the contestee.(20) This was also the practice under the Contested Elections Act, 2 USC Sec. Sec. 201 et seq.(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20. 2 USC Sec. 382(a). 1. The ``rules of the elections committees for hearing a contested election case'' [6 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 110] are no longer applicable. ------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Compliance With Statutory Requisites Sec. 18.1 Where the defeated candidate complains about his opponent's conduct in an election in a letter to the Clerk, but takes no other action or otherwise complies with the laws regulating contested election cases, the Committee on House Administration may decline to take action in the contest. In the 1959 Illinois election contest of Myers v Springer (Sec. 58.3, infra), the defeated candidate sent a letter to the Clerk complaining that the contestee had violated the Corrupt Practices Act by appointing the editor of a local paper, which paper had denied coverage to the contestant, to a position as acting postmaster. The letter was transmitted by the Clerk to the Speaker, who laid it before the House and referred it to the Committee on House Administration, and ordered the con [[Page 1026]] testant's letter printed as a House document. There was no record, however, showing that the contestant complied with the requirements for bringing an election contest, and the committee took no action on the contest. Sec. 18.2 Where an election contest has been initiated but not brought officially to the House, the House will not intervene simply for the purpose of procuring evidence for the use of the parties to the contest. In Sullivan v Miller (Sec. 52.5, infra), a 1943 Missouri contest, the parties filed a joint application for a recount although no election contest had been formally presented to the House at that time; the House refused to grant such application, the committee having recommended that the House not intervene ``simply for the purpose of procuring evidence for the use of the parties to the contest.'' Sec. 18.3 On matters of procedure, an election contest is governed by the applicable federal statutes dealing with contested elections, and not the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In the 1957 Iowa contested election case of Carter v LeCompte (Sec. 57.1, infra), the election committee determined that the contestant's motion to ``amend the pleadings to make them conform to the proof'' was premature, as the testimony had not yet been printed and referred to the committee. The committee reasoned that it was governed by the relevant federal statute, then 2 USC Sec. Sec. 201 et seq., and not by Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, under which such motions and answers thereto are generally granted. Limit on Number of Contests Initiated by an Individual Sec. 18.4 There appears to be no limit on the number of contests that may be initiated by the same individual. However, the House tends to look with increasing disfavor and skepticism upon contests that are filed year after year by the same individual upon the same grounds, particularly where he fails to produce evidence of his claims. See Prioleau v Legare (6 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 130) wherein a person had unsuccessfully instituted five consecutive election contests, and in which the House ex [[Page 1027]] pressed the hope that the fifth would be the last.(2)~ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. See also Lowe v Davis (Sec. 54.1, infra), Lowe v Davis (Sec. 56.3, infra), and Lowe v Thompson (Sec. Sec. 62.1, 63.1, infra), contests brought by the same individual. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------