Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1944 )

Ronofable H. Fat Edwarda
Civil M&riot Attorney
Reoords tillding
iallas County
Danas, Texas
At tention: Mr. Warren S. Cook
Eoar nir: Opinion Ro. o-5&1
Rer Authority of.the Tax As-
aoseor and Colleotor to
issue's voter a ,duplicate,%
poll tax receipt, ora-
oertifioata that a person'
has previously paid his
poll tax; and related sub-
jeots.
We acknowledge the receipt of your letter of February 28, 1944,
in which you ask the department*s opinion on the following questions:
"(1) Is the Tax ~Assessorand Collector authorized to
issue to a voter a duplicate poll tax reoeipt?
:,i2) 1s the Tax Assessor and Collector authorized to
issue certificates oartimng that a person has previously
paid his poll tax on a certain date?
"(3) May an eleator who has paid,his poll tax and has
had a poi.1tax receipt issued to him vote in person at the
regular pol.18or by absentee ballot by prassnting to the
proper person a dupliaate poll tax receipt or a certificate
Lssuad by the Tax ~Aseessarand Collector certifying that
said alactor has paid his ~01~1tax on a certain data?
"(4.; May an elector vthois exempted from paying his
pa:1 tax and haa been issuad an exemption oertifi.cafe
vote at an election held, by absentse ballot or in peF8On
by presentdng to tha proper person ,a certificate issued
by the Tax AW~SSOF and Colleotor oertiryjng that said
person is exempted from paying a poll tax and an exemption
aertifioate has previously been issued to him?"
~exaa Constitution, Article VI, Seotion 2, provides:
Honorable H. LJatEdwards, page 2 O-5881
I,
. . . .that any voter who is subject to pay a poll tax
under the laws of the Stats of Texas shall have paid said
tax before offering to vote at any election in this State
and hold a reoeipt showing that said poll tax was paid before
the first day of February next preoeding suoh election. Or
if said voter shall have lost or misplaced said tax receipt,
he or she, as the ease may be, shall be entitled to vote
upon making affidavit before any officer authorized to adminis-
ter oaths that such tax receipt has been lost. Such affidavit
shall be made in writing and left with the judge of the
election. .... And this provision of the Constitution shall
be self-enaoting without the necessity of further legislation.
. . . .n
Article VI, Section 4, of the Lonstitution empowers,the Lagisla-
ture to make "regulations a8 may be necessary to detect and punish
fraud and prese~a the purity of the ballot box and the Legislature
may provide by law for the registration of all voters in all cities
containing a population of ten thousand inhabitants or more."
In 1904 our Supreme Court in Stinson v. Gardner, 97 Tex. 292,
78,s. W. 492, construing the words "hold a receipt" said:
'"Itmight be inferred from the latter part of the quotation
that it was intended the voter should have his poll-tax receipt
at the place where ha voted, but there is no provision in
the Constitution whioh requires that the reoeipt shall be
exhibited at the time of voting. It only requires the voter
shall hold his receipt that is, that he shall have procured and
have possession of the reoeipt, and, if it has been lost,
then, in order to vote, he must make the affidavit which the
law requires. ..."
The following year (1905) the Terrall-Election Law was passed,
This law was a general overhauling of our election laws. Seation 66
of the Terre11 Gleotion Laps (Acts 1st C. S. 1905, p. 533 is Article
3004, R. S., 1925. Stinson v. Gardner, supra, was decided under a
prior form of the statute requiring only that the voter have a reoeipt,
Article 3004, whioh superseded the cited quotation from that case, is
aa follows:
"No citizen shall be permitted to vote, unless ha first
presents to the judge of eleotion his poll.tax receipt or
certificate of exemption issued to him before the first day
of February of the year in which he offers to vote. except
as otherwise permitted in this title, unless the sine hRS
beer,lost or mislaid, or left at home, in whioh event he
shall make an affidavit of that fact, which shall be left
with the judges and sent by them with the returns Of the
eleotj.onr provided, that, if since he obtained his receipt
Honorable H. Pat Edwards, page 3 O-5881
or certificate he removes from the precinot or county of
his residence, he may vote on oomplying with other pro-
visions of this title."
Other eleation statutes, material to the questions under disous-
sion, are:
Article 2966, aa amended 1941, provides:
3s
.*. any voter ...subjeot to pay a poll tax under the
laws of this State, shall ... before offering to vote at
any election in this State ... (hold) ... a reoeipt show-
ing that said poll tax was paid before the first day of
February next preaeding such elections ... If said voter
is exempt from paying s poll tax and resides in a aity of
10,000 inhabitants or more, he or she must prooure a cer-
tifioate showing his or her exemptions. ... If such
voter shall have lost or misplaced said tax receipt, ha
or she shall be entitled to vote upon making and leaving
with the judge of the elsotion an affidavit that suoh
tax was paid by him or her, or by his wife or by her
husband before said first day of February next preceding
suah election at which he or she offers to vote, and
that said receipt has been lost or misplaced. ..*a The
provisions of this Artiols as to oasting ballots shall
apply to all elections including general, special, and
primary elsations; provided that a city poll tax shall
not be required to vote in any election i?~this State
except in oity eleations.'
Article 2956, in part, is as follows:
"Subdivision 1. Any qualified sleotor of this State
who is absent from the county of his residsnoe, or be-
aauss of sickness or physiaal disability can not appear‘
at the poll place in the eleotion preoinat of his resi-
dence, on the day of holding any general, special. or
primary election, may, nevertheless, OWQ~ his vote to
be cast at suoh ale&ion in the precinct of his residenoa
by compliance with one or other of the methods herein-
after provided for absentee voting.
"Subdivision 2. Such elector shall make applioation
for an official ballot to the oounty olerk in Writing
signed by the elector. or by a witness at the direction
of said elector in case of latter's inability to make
suoh written application because of physical disability.
Suoh application shall he accompanied by the poll tax
receipt or exemption oertifiaate of the elector, or, in
1is.zthereof, his affidavit in writing that same has beon
lo& or mislaid. l s.
Honorable H. Pat Edwards, page 4 O-5881
"Subdivision 8. The oounty clerk shall post at a con-
spicuous plaoe in his offioe, for public inspection, a
complete list of those to whom ballots have been deliver-
ed or sent out under this Article, stating thereon the
elector's name, age, ocoupation, precinct of residence
and poll tax number or exemption certificate number, and
the date on whioh ballot was delivered or mailed'whiah
list shall be kept up from day to day0 The applications,
poll tax reoeipts, exemption certifiaates, or affidavits
of loss thereof, shall also be open to publio inspection
at regular offioe hours, but under such reasonable rules
and regulations as the county olerk may adopt to safe-
guard the 8~8 and to reasonably economize his opm time
while they are in his keeping,
II
. . . . a
Article 2959, stipulates that "the person when he pays it (the
poll tax) shall be entitled to his poll tax receipt."
Article 2968% "ExemptVon oertifioates of persons
residing in a city 10,000 or more,
"In the event of loss of oertifioate of exemption
the voter may secure a reissue under his old number,
by making affidavit of such loss before the County
Tax Collector."
Article 2968a. -Exemption aertificates to persons not subject to
the disqualifiaations sat out in Artiole 2954,
"...who (do) not reside in a city of ten thousand in-
habitants or more, and who is exempt from the payment
of a poll tax by reason of the faot that he or she has
not yet reached the age of twenty-one years on the first
day of January preoeding the levy, or who is exempt from
the payment of a poll tax because he or she was not a
resident of the State on the first day of January pre-
ceding the levy, but who shall have since become eligible
to vote by reason of length of residsnos or age, shall,
on or before the thirty-first day of January of the yser
in which ho or she offers to vote, obtain from the was-
ses8or and Collector of Taxes for the county of his or
her residenoe a certificate of exemption from the pay-
ment of a poll tax, and no such person who has failed
or refused to obtain such certificate of exemption from
the payment of a poll tax shall be allowed to vote, cQD
Honorable H. Pat Edwards, pangs5
"In the event the exempted voter holding oertificate
under this Article shall remove from the county in which
he resided when same was issued, to another oour&,yin
this State, he shall be required to present his oertifi-
oats of exemption to the Assessor and Collector of taxes
of the county of his new residenoe~for reissue of ragis-
tration and endorsement at least twenty days before any
election at which he expects to vote.
"In the event of the loss of oertifioatm of exemption,
the voter may seoure a reissue under his old number by
making affidavit of such loss before the County Tax As-
sessor and Collector."
Penal Code, Article 216, reads:
"Any judge of an election or primary who wilfully
permits a person to vote, whose nems,doas not appear on
the list of qualified voters of the preoinct and who
fails to present his poll tax raoeipt or oertificats of
sxanption or make affidavit of its loss of misplacement
or inadvertently left at home, except in osees where no
oertifioate of exemption or tax receipt is required,
shall be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars."
Penal Cods, Artiole 217, provides thatr
"Any judge of any election who shall refuse to receive
the vote of any qualified elector who, when his vote is
objected to shows by his own oath that he is entitled
to vote, or who shall refuse to deliver an official bal:
lot to one entitled to vote under the law, or who shall
wilfully refuse to receive a ballot after one entitled
to vote has legally folded and retuned sama, shall be
fined not to exceed five hundred dollars."
Penal Code, Article 232, is as followsr
"If any person knowing himself not to he a qualified
voter, shall at any election vote for or egainst any
officer to be then chosen, or for or against any pro-
position to be determined by said election, ha shall be
confined in the penitentiary not less than two nor more
than five years."
we *nswer your questions respectively as follows:
First question: The statutes, Articles 2968 and 2968~~~author-
ize the tax assessor and oollector to re-issue a certificate of exemp-
tion when the original has been lost, but we have been unable to find
honorable H. Pat Edwards, page 6 O-5881
any statute authorizing that offiaer to issue a duplicate poll tax
reoaipt.
We therefore answer this question in the negative.
Second question? We are not prepared to say that a tax assessor
and collector is without authority to issue a certificate, such as is
desoribed in this question, which may be used for some purposs, but,
it is our opinion that ths provisions of the pertinrmt statutes quoted
above make it obvious that suah a certificate may not be used for vot-
ing purposes. In other rords, such certificates era not raao@zed
by our election laws,
Third question: In vim of our answers to your first,and seaond
questions, it is not necessary to answer this question,
Fourth qusatior~t We have in answer to your first question called
your attention to the statutes authorizing the tax assessor and oollec-
tor to m-issue a certificate of exmption. However, there is no
statute authoricing such officer to issue such a certifioate as is
described in this question, and if such a certificate wme issued, it
is not one reaognized by our election laws. Pvetherefore answer this
question in the negative0
Trusting that the foregoing filly answers your inquiries, we are
Very truly yours
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
By s/David Wuntoh
David %x&oh
Assistant
DAtdb:wa
APPROVED APRIL 18, 1944
s/Gee. P. Blaokburn
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS (acting)
Approved Opinion Committee By EWE Chairman