Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1944 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
GROVERSELLERS
*\TTORNEY GENLRAL
:‘onoreble %dney Latham
“ecretarp Oi 3StO
.;uot In, Texas
19&, rsguestlng the
stated therein
htm dlitrtbuted t$‘tfie appropriate looal election
ti~lcl~l 309(b)).
\ “T~ID&hi? envelop8 wescribed by the United
:Ibetch ‘iirr RAlot Coumlcdon for the return of the
exeautd beX1ot.v contelns a space for the residence
oddrac;pf the votlnq servlcemsn, but doae not pro-
01Cs 8 space to show the voting precinot of tha
voter.
“It la tee intentloa ct this ot’tlce to distrlb-
ute ouch ballots to the yrowr county clerks; but it
~3.11. be extremely dll'ficult., especiully in the lareur
counties, 23r the county clcr.3 to mice dfntributfon
CI~ thss~ brlllots to the proper precfirat ~fficI~!ls.
^uch envelopes are not to be opened by tiny person
other thun tie locaL electlcn 0rfi0ials.
!!cn. Ydney Lethan, page 2
*The Federal ballots will be cast only ror
candidates ror president and congreacmen, there
being no United States senator to be alectad In
Texas this year.
“In the 11&t or the above facts,, will you
please advlaa this department upon the rollowIng
inquiry:
‘1. Can the Federal War Ballots be
legally tabulated all In one precinct in
each county, end the totals added to the
county total In order to save the coniu-
slon of the county clerks In undertaking
to distribute them to the various pra-
cinots without surrlcient IdentIiIcatIon
on the envalopas?‘v
Public Law, 277, 78th Congress, commonly known se
the soldier voting sot, among other things, prasorlbaa the
oath of electors in the general election, the forms to ba
printed on eaoh envelope, the form of ballot, eto. Paragraph
B, or Section 309, of Title 3, supra, providea:
“The Secretary of State of any State, upon
receiving any ballot cast under this title, shall,
at an appropriate time, transmit it to the appro-
priate election offlolala or the district, preolnct,
county .or other voting unit of the voters’ rasldanoe.
Such officlsla shell take oath that they will not
disclose to anyone (unless required by law) how any
absentee shall have voted. Such orrIoia1 shall
determine, that the oath required under sections
303 and 304,has been executed end that It Is an
order, pursuant to Section 311, to open the oificlal
Inner envelope; whereupon, such ~oitlcials shall
compile R voting list of the na;nes appearing on all
such Inner envelopes received rrom the Secretary of
State. ;Jo person other than such appropriate eleo-
tion orricial ohs11 open any oi:IcIol outer or inner
envelone purporting to contain a ballot cast under
this title.”
FOll. ?idney Lethsn, pepe 3
I‘sragraph 8, of “eotlon 310, Tltlo 3, supra,
provides;
““aoh Cooretary 0r “tat0 ah011 prepare 8
re?,ort of all ballot8 reoeived by him nnd transnit
it to the various rlootion ofiiolala, end wlthln
thirty daya after the last day for aousting absentee
ballots in any eleotlon in which ballots are oast
under the provisions of this Title, each 7eoretarg
of Sate ahell transmit suob reoort to the Commisolon.R
Artlolr 2936, V. A. C. T., provides;
“All voters ahaL vote In the eleotion preolnot
In whioh they realde.m
Article 2956, V. k. C. 7.. pertelnlng to sbaentee
voting, provides, In part:
n Upon reoeiut or any suoh ballot, ;t d
neeled’i; ito ballot envelope duly ondorsed,th,
clerk shell keep the same unopened until the
seoond day prior to such election, md shall
then enolose same together -A th the eleotor’a
appllostion and eooompmylng .pspers, In (I 1orRer
oarrler envelope whloh shall be neourely sealed
r.nd endorsed with the name and orrlolal title or
suoh clerk, and the words ‘this envelope ooatl&PD
an absentee ballot and must be opened only at the
polls on elcotlon day, ’ end the clerk shall forth-
rlth rail sane, or deliver in person, to the pro-
gldlng Judge of the eleotiun, or to any assistant
judge of election in arid preo1not.v
There 1s no appellate oourt decision that iye are
able to fled passing upon the q,leatlon involved in this opti-
loll; Considering Pub110 Law 277, aupre, together with the
foregoing Tcxaa statutes, it la our opinion that the Tederel
“‘sr ~~1lot.a cennot be legglly tsbulated all in cne precinot
lo each county. .?teted in enother way, tb Federal ‘:‘nr
hallots should be tabulated in the precluct tihera the voter
has his lefq31 resldenoo clhd la eutltled to vote.
Yours vary truly
APPROV
AZOEli,Y ‘GI’iJZ.R:.+L
‘0” T?XX?? CPlNlC
C0YMIl-I
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