Mr. T. M. Trimble, First Assistant State Superintendent State Department

of Education
Dear Mr. Trimblsr 

## opinfon no. O-6006 Be: Disposition

and handling

of election

returns - Independent sohooldistrict This offioe is in receiptof youp letter of April 26, 1944, together

with the rttaohedinquiry by H. PT.

Stillwell,

Superintendent, Tsxarkana,

Texas,Public Schools. The fo-Ilowing is our opinion

as to the answers

to the variousquestions submitted

to you by W. Stillwell. Ris firat inquiryis0 "Please give me directions

about how to disposeof election returns,

b&h for those of the ourrent year as well as those for previous years." Itas our opinion

that the election

returm, both those fir the current

year aa well as thosefor previous yeam, may be disposed of w burning

or in any othermanner;provided, that they must be retained and may not ba disposed of for at least one year after the date of the election. Artiole 3026,Bmnon's Revised Civil Statutes, provides8 "When the ball.ots

have all been counted. the managsreof the lectionin person shallmake out triplicate returnsof the same, certified to be correct,

and sigmsdby them offioially, showing:

Pirst,the total nun&m of votes polled rt such box3 second, the numberpolled for each sandidatel one of which ratuws,together with the poll lists and tally lists, shalX be sealedup in an envelope and delivered

by one of the precinotjudgesto the oounty judge of the countysanotherof said returns, together with poll lists and tally Ilsts,sblP be delivered by one of the managers of eleotiona

to the oo~unty

clerk of the oouaty to be kept by him in his offioeopen to inspection by the pub110 for twelpr moathr frcmthe day of the elections

and the other of said returns, pcll and tally lists shill Lu kept bu the presiding officer oftha eleotioO for twelve

months from the day of the eleotio& 21 oace of vaoanoy in the office of county judge, or tho absenos,failureor inability of that officer to act, the eleatiorr retums shall k, deliver& to the countyclerk oftho county who shall srfelykeep the same ln hi8 offioe,and he, or' the ooullty

judge, shall deliver the smm to tha cmmisuiomrr' court'on the dq appointed

by law to open and comparethe polls~ Acts 1 ’ 383, pe 50; Aots lrt C. L. 1905. p. 541, 80~. 91; G,L. vol. 9, po 357."Hon. T. M. Trimble, pge 2 (o-6006)

We find no provision in the statutes

or in the case* requiring that the r&urn6 thaelvos be preserved save thore in the above quoted statute.

Lest disposition

of returnsbe confised with dispoeition

of "ballots,"

we ar@ enclosing

herewith

a oopy of our Opinion Ho. O-4038 tiioh treataof that subjeot.

His secondquestionin: "For the currant

year to whom shouldthe returns, made by the election officers,

go7 And in partioular, do any of thsla

go to any CountyOfficer?" Mr. Stillare does not state the partioubr *pa of election to which this question relates. We are presuming that he refers to the elections of trusteesfor the Tsxarkana Independent

SchoolDistrict

and we answerhis question accordingly.
It is our opinionthat three copies of these returns should be made: that one mpy of suoh returns should be retained

by the presiding officerof the election; that the other returns should be made to the sahoolboard and not to any countyoffioialt that manual delivery to the sbhoolboard should be effeoted

by delivering

one oopy of the returnsto the president

of the sohoolboard and the other to the secretary of the schoolboard.

Article 3026,V.R.C.S., quotedabove, provides for the making of triplicate

returna,that one return shall be retained by the presiding officer

of the election

and the other two delivered to the oounty judge and county clerk respectively.

The TexarkanaIndppendent SchoolM&riot is created by Chapter 31 of the Local and Speoial Laws of the 36th Legislature at its Third Called Session,as amendedby the Speoial Laws of the 39th Legislature at its First Called Sessionin 1926, Chapter49, page 152. Section 3 of said Chapter 31 wae amended by Section 2 of Chapter49 of the Special Laws of the 39th Legislature at its First Called Seasionto read, in part, as foll0Wsr "All such ale&ions shall be held in aocordanae with the State Laws governing elections,

except that said board shall fix one or more voting plaoes in each ward of the City of Texarkana, Texas, and eaid Board shall appointa presiding officer

to hold said eleotion at eaoh voting place, and suoh presiding officer shall selectat least one judge and two clerks for the raspactive

voting plaoes,

and said presiding officer,judgesand clerks, shall sot as managers of said election,

and shall take the oath prescribed

by law as in generalelections, and make returnsof said eloction to said board, as required by law at general

ale&ion, and 8t theHon. T. M. Trimble, page 3 (o-6006)

first regularor oalled session thereafter

the said schoolboard shall canvasssuch returns, declare the resultathereof and issue csrtifiaates of election

totha persona shGmr8 by said returnsto have been elected.? (Emphasis

supplied). There is nothing in the speciallaw precluding the retsnticn

of one copy of the return by the presiding officerof the election, and we believethat he shouldretain one oopy.

However',

unlikethe rule in generalelections, the speoiallaw doss not specifically prcrvide

for manual deliverof the returnfs to any particular

person or persrms. It provides that the returnsshall be made "to the board."

Our courts

have repeatedly

held that boardshave no legal existenoe as exh, c-r -+ when their numbers meet together

as I board. (Texas Jurisprudence,

Volume 4 page 457; Webster, et al. Vs. Texas h Pacifio Motor Transport

Company,

et al., 166 S.W. (2d) 75). Therefore,

it is our opinionthat the delivery is not compPetely and legally effected untilthe returnsare plaoedbefore the board meeting as such. However,speedy manual deliveryof the election returna to the personsauthorized

to aocept them presents a problem

that must be me% in a practical

manner. It would ba impraotioal and unreasonable

to contend that it would be necessary for the schoolboard to convenein a body in order to receive

and retainthe Peturns. The pr=osident and secretary

cf the Board of Trustees of the Tsxarkana

Independent

School Distriot

are the officers

whose funotions

are most nearly comparable to those of the county judge and oountyclerk, who LP~ charged

withthe duty of receivingslection returnsin generalelections. For that reason, it is our opinion that manual delivery of the returns

may be made to the president and secretary

of the schoolboard. His third question is8 Qhen the returns o(we in from an election box with voted ballotsor surplus ballotsloose and not sealed, what is the sohool distrlotsupposed to do about t$e matter?'

It is our opiiion

that the s&o01 board should keep all of these ballotsfor one year after the election, and then burn them. The specialrot quoted above adoptsthe rubs of generaleleotions as being applicable to elections

in your districtinsofar aa theyaro not changed

by it. titicle 3026, V.R.C.S.,

relating

to generalelections, reads, in part: "Immediatsly

after counting

the votes by the managersOf eleCtiOn, the presiding

officershall plaoe all the ballots voted, together

with one poll tax list and one tally list, into a wooden or metallicbox, and- .-

Hon. T. XI.

TPimbZa,

page 4 (C-6006)

shall securely

fastenthe hex x?ith nails, s~"ewsdr locks, and he shall. within ten days after the olsetioxr, Sunda;ys

azd the days of electionexeluded,

deliver said box tc the county clerk of his county, . 0 ., whose duty it shall be to keep the sme securely; ., e + If no contest

grows out of tho election

within one year rC%sr the day of such election, the said clerk shall destrr,y the contents

of said lnlEot box by burning the some." His fourthquestioniS8 "Are ths election

officerssuppose.

to give b&h the Prssidont md the Secretary

of the School Bard tally she*ta, poll lists,~&urns, register of n&ilatad ballots, register

of absentee

votes, eto,BR It is our opinionthat separatecopiesof the ret&s, poll lists, and tally lists, should bs made both to the president and secretary

of the board. Article 3026,VeR.CeSC,, hersinaiwm quoted,provides that such returns, poll lists, and tally lists shall be sealed up and delivered

both to the county jGdge and to the ~~~unty clerk. Aas

we have stated

befi*~e, it is our opinionthat in s&oo% &action@:, the prssident

and secretary of the school

board performsimilarfunctisns ix *hose of these county officers.

Weare un~bla to find aw law pruP%ding for tRe delivery

bath to the county judge and the cuurty olerk (or &I his casa,to the president end secretary

of the schoolboard) inditidual copies of register

of mutilated ballots,

register

of absentsa

votes, or other election materials, other than those mentioned in t& precuding

paragraph0 For that mason we see no necessityfor making suoh dupXfcrte dalivaries. His fifth questioniss "Woh envelope

is to be opened

when the returnsare oanmssed?" It is our opinion&at both the m%urn rmde to the prosident and that made to the secretary of the rehooRboardmay be cpmed. The special

aat of the Legislature quotedabove in our lnll r l or to Mr. Stillwoll'8

secondquestion

pr&dea, in p*rts 1)

. . . such board shall oanvuassuch returna,D 0 .* Both the copy delivorod to the pro&den% and thnt delivered to the sacrotary u-a offieial

roturns. It ir th#refal our opinionthat in ordor to effoot. 8 oompl&.@

canvass

both copies shouldbe opened* Eia sixth quo&ion isnHon. T. M. fM.tnbl6, pag6 5 IO-6006)

'In regard to raturnsof previous years,how long ir th6~6ohooldistriat~to

pr686x-m

the rrturna befor d66troying them? And wbn tIio Board do66 d6rtruy th6m, ~6 l ay kind of roaordror affidavit6 to bo mado or any particular form of procedur6

ob66medP6 The fir8t alau60of tbir inquirgi6 amwerad ia our opinion a6 to Mr. Sfillw611~6

flr6t qu66tion

mt out above in thi6 opinion. W6k6 unable to fiad any provision of law requiring

any raaordt or affidavit6

to k made or any particular form of proc6durs

to bo obsarwd when th6 r6turn6are dertrcyod. Pay truly youra, Nl'ORNSYGESERAL

GFTEXIG By /a/ U. I'.

carry T&T. Carry AEEiStaIlt

APPRm JUL 5, 1944 /E/GOorgo % Blaoklxlra (Acting)

AT!tEtNEX GENERAL OF rntks By G.W.B. Chainmn