Contested Underhill election records, 1888.

ArchivalResource

Contested Underhill election records, 1888.

Contested Underhill election records, 1888.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/518481139

The collection is mostly made up of question and answer testimony taken to determine the legality of the election of George W. Woodworth, over Thomas Reeves and George Benedict, for state representative from Underhill, Vermont, in 1888. Woodworth received 165 votes, Reeves 155, and Benedict 13, for a total vote of 333 recorded votes. There were 340 votes cast, so to win the election a candidate needed 171 votes, as a majority, not a plurality, to win. The contest involved in part where the missing seven votes had gone, and who should have received them. It also turned into a contest as to the validity of the check list. Some names had been excluded that perhaps should have been included, and others were on the list that perhaps should not have been there. The contestants' briefs, contained in folder one, provide a good summary of the whole dispute. It also acts as a guide to the following testimony. Testimonies relating to the following people are included: Willie F. Hall, George Vincent, Alexander Nevins, John Fitzsimonds, John W. Casey, George Vincent, James Wall, and Peter McNassar.

.5 linear feet

Vermont Historical Society