## Facts

- A parliamentary election for burgesses was held in Aylesbury.
- Matthew Ashby, a qualified “free burgess,” presented himself to vote.
- William White, acting as constable/returning officer, refused to accept Ashby’s vote on the asserted ground that Ashby was not a “settled inhabitant.”
- Ashby’s preferred candidate ultimately won the election, so Ashby alleged no measurable economic loss from the refusal.
- Ashby brought an action on the case seeking damages for being wrongfully prevented from voting.
- A jury found for Ashby and assessed damages.
- In the Court of King’s Bench, a majority favored White on the view that the refusal caused no actionable damage and implicated parliamentary control of elections; Chief Justice Holt dissented.
- On writ of error, the House of Lords reversed and restored Ashby’s recovery.

## Issues

1. Whether a qualified voter wrongfully prevented from voting may recover damages despite no proven pecuniary loss.
2. Whether the House of Commons’ authority over election returns bars common law courts from providing a civil remedy against an election officer who wrongfully refuses a vote.

## Decision

- The House of Lords reversed the King’s Bench judgment for White.
- The Lords held that Ashby could maintain an action and recover the jury-assessed damages (and costs) for the wrongful refusal of his vote.
- The Lords rejected the argument that parliamentary competence over elections eliminated the courts’ ability to award civil damages to an injured elector.

## Legal Principles

- Denial of a legal right is actionable even without proof of economic loss (*injuria sine damno*); the infringement itself constitutes a compensable injury.
- Where the law confers a right, the courts will supply a remedy (*ubi jus ibi remedium*).
- The right to vote was treated as an individual legal right, not merely a matter of political discretion, and not too small for judicial protection.
- A public officer’s wrongful refusal to receive a qualified vote may constitute actionable misfeasance in office, supporting damages designed to compensate and, in appropriate cases, deter official misconduct.

## Conclusion

A qualified elector who is wrongfully refused the opportunity to vote suffers a legal injury for which damages may be recovered even absent pecuniary loss, and common law courts may award that remedy against an election officer notwithstanding Parliament’s role in judging election returns.


Ashby v. White, 92 Eng. Rep. 126 (K.B. 1703), rev’d, 1 Eng. Rep. 417 (H.L. 1703)