Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1942 )

OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL Ok+ TEXAS AUSTIN Hanoruble Barry 8oyd County Attorney Beuidsraon County Athens, ‘&ma6 Your 33quest for he rollowln& oteted cpl‘astion: Isslttea have andidata who office at the 8 2kfteT Said 8iW$- ere uanvasaed,* ooneidarad by this dapartment, Eominatton deelined may deoline and annul his mm- officer with whom ation is filed, tcm daya beiora ths eleutlua if it be for a oity oftioe, t other oases, a deola- and twenty days -11 mtion in writlnz3, signed by hira before emno oftiosr authorized t3 take aokno--uladgmemts. 7li-m suoh deolination (or in ease of death of a llOJ&itl``), the dXfMUtiVt3 COdttiW3 Of (I FWty or a mnjorlty or thea for the State, die- trio% or o.ounty aa the offloe to be mm- inated aiy requfr&, may nominate a aandi- date to supply the vacanoy by filing with the eoretary of State in the base of State or d 9 atrlot offioera, or with the county Judge in the oaso or oount or preoinot orf% oera a oertifloate duly 6f gned and aoknowl- edge 4 by them, eettlng forth the oauae of tha vaoanoy, the mime or the new noalnee, the offioe for shioh he wae ndmlnated end when and how he wa$ nominated. Ho exeou- tire oomitteo rhall ever have power ot nom- lnatlon, except where a nominoe ha8 died or deollned the non&nation ae provided in this artiole.W Article8 3172 and 3173 of the Revised Civil Stat- utee of 1911 whioh are now aodifled by Vernon ee Artiole 3165, V. A. E, S., aupra, were oonetmed by the Supreme Court o? TeBis In the ease of Gilmore v+ Waples, et al, 188 9. X. 1037. ?ie quote rrom the oourt*e opinion a8 followsr * The powers of a State sxeoutive oommit~e~ in reepeot to making mmlnatlonr for ita party are dealt with in Artioles 3172 and 327) of the Rerlaed Statute& It ill pro- vided In Artiole 3172 that in oaee of the death or 8 nominee for a State Office, or the deollnatfoa of suah a nomination by a ntieo, the State Xxeoutive Committee of the party may nominate a oandfdate to eu~plp the vaoanoy~ The auooeeding artlole, Artlole 3173, deolarea: “*Ho exeoutive commlttee shall ever have any power BP nomination, except where a nom- inee ha8 died or aeolined the nomination a8 provided in Artlole 3172.’ DThere is nothing embiguous about these two artlolerr. Ifor is their intention in any wlise obaouse. They very plainly oonier upon a State oonsaittee the power of nominating fa oandidate for a State oiiioe in lnetanoea where there haa been a previous nomination and .the nominee hae either deolined the nom- ination or has died. Juet ao unequlvooally Hmorablo Harry %oyd, Page f _ they deny suoh power to the oomlttes in all other instanaea. The laagu~a of Arti- 01s 3173 1s pointed, olear end oertain, and there ia nothing about It or ita oontext that would warrant a oourt in setting it aside. A rtatute so plain and umlrtaicable leave8 nothIng ior lntsrgretatlon or oonatruotion. All that oourts may do with auoh a statute i8 to observe It and earoroe it. . . .m Artfolecr 3124 and 3125, Vernon18 Annotated Texas Civil Statutes, provide tar ths oountf exaautfv’o oommlttee to Oanv8M the returna of the eleltlon ana dOOlal% the rc mat. Artiole 3125 8la0 rsqulrea the ohalman of the oouatp exsoutivo oommlttee to oertlfy a6 nomlneo the oandldato who reoaiYod the woeMa vote to nominate. or ooumo the hoalnee oarinot be orf‘1: oielly aid legally known uutif the returna hare been oanvassed and the reeulte deolarsd in ao- oordanos with law. It is our opinion that your question shmld bs ,’ answered in the siflrmativa, and it is so anSwered, very truly your6 ATTORNEY GENERAL OB T&XX3 Wm. J. Panning Asai &ant WJPIGO