Honorable W. C. Huffaker, Jr. 

District Attorney 

106th Judicial District 

First National Bank Building 

Tahoka, Texas 

Opinion No. o-6482 

Re: Violations of various 

Statutes relating to 

Dear Sir: payment of poll taxes. 

We are in receipt of your letter of recent date in 

which you outline at some length certain facts, and upon 

which you predicate the following questions and seek our 

opinion thereon: 

"1. Where a person who procures an authorization 

for the paying of poll tax as provided for in Article 

2961 of Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, and who then 

takes such authorization and his own money or money not 

furnished by the taxpayer and pays the poll tax of said 

individual, does he violate the provisions of Article 

203 of the Penal Code of Texas.'" 

"2. Where an individual who takes an authorization 

for thepaylng of ~012 tax of an individual as provided 

for in Article 2961, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 

which said authorization Is signed by the father of 

the taxpayer and by the father-in-law of the taxpayer 

without any knowledge on the part of the taxpayer that 

his father and/or her father-in-law is making such 

authorization and said individual takes such authorlzation signed by another person to the tax collector 

and procures the pol,l tax receipts, has such person 

violated the provisions of Article 203 of the Penal 

Code of Texas?" 

“3 s Where an individual takes an authorization 

blank as provided for in Article 2961, Revised Civil 

Statutes of Texas, and induces a taxpayer to permit 

him to procure his poll tax receipt for him, telling 

said taxpayer that he will get his reeelpt for him, 

and after said taxpayer has agreed for said individual 

. . 

Honorable W. C. Huffaker, Jr., page 3, (o-6482) 

‘I* * * 

"Art. 203,233 Unlawfully paying poll tax of ' 

a citizen. 

"Any candidate for office or other person who 

pays or procures another to pay then pol1.ta.x of a 

citizen, except as permitted by law, shall,be confined in the penitentiary not less than two nor more 

than five years. 

"Art: 204. 239 Loaning money to paz. 

"Whoever loans or advances money to another 

knowing it Is to be used for paying the poll tax of 

such other person shall be fined not to exceed five 

hundred dollars .” 

As the county of your district wherein the faots as 

alleged by you are said to have application does not contain any city in ,whioh the population exceeds ten thousand 

inhabitants, the mode of paying poll taxes is governed by 

the provisions of Article 2961, Revised Civil Statutes of 

Texas, as amended by the Acts of 1941, 47th L glslature, 

Chapter 132, p. 183. That article reads as follows: 

“Art. 2961. 2944 Mode of paying poll tax. 

"If the taxpayer does not reside in a oity of 

ten thousand (10,000) inhabitants or more, his poll 

tax must either be paid by him in person or by some 

one duly authorized by him in writing to pay the same, 

and,ito::.nirh‘ish~:thE.:CO23:eCBOr-I.~ ..+- er:i 

to fill out the blanks in the po 

tion nece;;ssr 

tax receipt. 

authority and information must be signed by the party 

who owes the poll tax, and must be deposited with the 

Tax Collector and filed and preserved by him. Ataxpayer may pay his poll tax by a remittance of the 

amount of the tax through the United States mall to 

the County Tax Collector, accompanying said remittance with a statement in writing showing all the 

information necessary to enable the Tax Collector. 

to fill out the blank form of the poll tax receipt, 

which statement must be signed by the party wh~o owes 

the poll tax under oath, but the husband may sign 

for the wife.and in like manner the wife may sign 

for the husband, and the Tax Collector shall Issue 

and mall to the taxpayer at his last la?own address 

a poll tax of his wife and receive the receipt therefor. 
Hon. W. C. Huffaker, jr*, page 4 (0-6482) 

In >ike manner the wife may pay the poll tax of her 

husband and receive the receipt therefor. The 

Assessor and Colleotor of Taxes may at such places 

as shall .in his discretion be necessary or advisable, 

have a duly authorized and sworn deputy for the purpose of aaceptlng poll taxes and giving receipts 

therefor.” 

The form of a poll tax receipt is presoribed in Article 

2965, Revised Civil Statutes, as amended!, and said amended 

article reads as follows: 

“Art. 2965, 2949-50 Form of receipt. 

“Each poll tax receipt and Its duplicate shall 

show!l~he:,n~$lg;E.of~P’eYpEirty for whom it was Issued, 

the paymentof the tax, the age and race of the taxpayer, and length of time the taxpayer has resided 

in the State and whether the taxpayer Is a citizen 

of the United States, and If so, whether a native 

born or a naturalized citizen of the United States, 

and the State of the United States or the foreign 

country where the taxpayer was born, the length of 

time the taxpayer has resided In the county, the 

voting preolnot in which the taxpayer lives, exoept 

when in an unorganized county, the taxpayer’s occupation and post office address, or if living In an 

incorporated city, the ward, street, and number of 

residence In such city or town. The poll tax receipt 

shall be in the following form and numbered consecutively in each book provided for In this title: 

“Poll tax Reaeipt No. 

State of Texas 

County of 

“Received of , zm the day of 

, A.D, the sum of 

in payment of poll tax Por’year A.D. 19 

$ 

the said 

taxpayer being duly sworn by me, says that’he (she) 

IS years old, that he (she) resides In voting 

precinct Ho. 

that his (he&-ii 

in County, Texas, 

that he (she) 

is a native born (naturalized) eitlee~ of the United 

States, and was born In county, 

State, that he (she) has resided in Texas 

years and in 

he (she) is by occupat?%!iCounty years, that 

and that his (her) postoff?ice address Is 
. - 

Hon. W. C. Huffaker, Jr., page 5 (O-6482) 

(if in any incorporated city or town, a blank work 

must be printed for the ward, street, and number of 

residence In lieu of his (her) post-office address, 

th of time he (she) has resided In such city 

“All of which I certify: Signed 

(Seal) 

"If from the Information on the poll tax receipt 

above required It appears that the party receiving 

the same is an alien, he shall be given a receipt 

from a book specially prepared for alien taxpayers, 

which book is hereafter orovl~ded in this Title, and 

the Tax Collector and the~Commissio 

authorities providing said poll tti 

have printed on the face of said receipt the word 

'alien', which said printing shall not be less than 

two (2) inches in height, superimposed in outline 

type, and printed in red ink." 

Further reference to the alien poll taxes, alluded to 

in the above article, is to be found in Article 2970, as 

amended, Revised Civil Statutes, and Article 2975, as amended 

not necessary to be copies here. Reference Is also made to 

Articles 200a-2 and 200a-3, Vernon's Annotated Penal Code. 

Article 200a-2 (Acts 1939, 46th Leg., p. 296 (5) reads: 

"Any taxpayer who shall make any false statement to procure a poll tax receipt or falsely 

answers any of the questions as set out in Section 

1, Article 2965, as hereinabove set forth, shall 

be deemed guilty of false swearing and upon conviction shall be punished by confinement In the 

State Penitentiary not less than one nor more than 

three (3) years." 

We shall now undertake to answer your questions. 

As we understand your first question, the individual 

YOU mention procured the "authorization" in form and substance 

in 'full compliance with the requirements of Article 2961,supra. 

However, instead of the taxpayer furnishing the money from 

his funds with which to pay the same, the individual acting 

as agent, supplied the funds. 

It appears that our problem is to determine what is 

meant by the words "authorized - - to pay the same", as used 
, 

Honorable W. C. Huffaker, Jr., Page 6 (o-6482); 

* i 

in Article 2961, V.A,C.S,, supra, in reference to the mode 

of paying a poll tax by an agent. If these words mean that 

the agent, after securing a proper authorization from the 

1 

taxpayer, may use or furnish his own money to pay said poll 

t+,x, then, of course, such payment would be "permitted by 

., law" and the agent-payor would not be amendable to said Penal 

:i. Statute 203, supra. 

However, for reasons hereinafter expressed, we do not 

believe such is the meaning of said words. The fundamental 

rule for which all the others are made and applied, is that 

in construing a statute the object is to ascertain and give 

ef:fect to the Intention of the Legislature. See Parshall v. 

State, 62 Tex. Cr. R. 177, 138 S. W. 759. Our Supreme Court, 

in the case of Edwards v. Morton, 92 Tex. 152, 46 S.W. 792, 

1 tersely and pertinently says: 

, 

"The intention of the Legislature in enacting 

. . a law is the law Itself." 

It alsa~i~has been said by our appellate court (Parshall 

v. State, supra) that It Is presumed that each part of a statute is intended to coact with every other part; that no part 

is Intended to antagonize the general purpose of the enactment; 

and that to ascertain the legislative intent every part of an act, 

and other acts In pari materia, are to be considered. 

It is a settled rule of statutory interpretation that 

I statutes which deal with the same general subject, have the 

same general purpose, or relate to the same person or thing 

on class of persons or things, are considered as "in pari 

materia." 39 Tex. Jur. p0 253. 

In this connection we point out 'that in the 1925 revision 

of our statutes the provisions of the "Terre11 Election Law", 

as amended, were Incorporated, and such provisions then 

. appeared, in respect to the matter now in question, substantially as they now appear. Article 2961, Revised Civil Statutes 

of 1925, provided that the poll tax of a taxpayer not residing in a city of ten thousand (10,000) inhabitants or more 

"qust either be paid by him in person or by some onelduly 

aythorized by him in writing to pay the same, Article 

2~63, R.C.S., 1925, provided that "when, in caies permitted 

by this title, the t#ax is paid by an agent, the tax receipt 

shall not be delivered to such agent, 0 s an Articles 201, 

203, and 204, Penal Code 1925, supra, were restrictions enacted 

to prevent "designing persons, by advances of money with assurances of that return which gratitude or self-interest would 

prompt" from being clothes with the certificate of the voter 

and turned loose as the deciding power of our elections to 
L * 

. 

Hon. W. C. Huffaker, Jr., Page 7 (O-6482) 

+ 

, .; 

t 

. 

t 

sap the foundations and undermine the laws of our free institut Ions. (See Solon V. State, 54 Tex. Cr. R. 261, 114 S.W. 160) 

We believe the underlying principle of all these provisions 

was to prevent any person having a "proprietorship". over any 

taxpayer by reason of having paid or advanced money for the 

payment of such taxpayer's poll tax. We cannot see any good 

reason why the onus of "proprietorship" is removed by reason 

of the taxpayer's "consent' being obtained in writing, nor do 

we, believe that this was the intention of the Legislature when 

Aqtlcle 2961, R.C.S., supra, was incorporated In our laws. 

On the contrary, it is ourflrm conviction that the Legislature Intended by the use of the words "authorized . . . to 

pay the same", In said Article 2961, supra, to merely authorize 

an agent, duly authorized in writing, to deliver the tax a erb 

and the necessary information to the 

!2%$?3Gelieve, 

tax ,3IT-%k co 

is in harmony with the general purpose of 

our laws in regard to the protection of the purity of the ballot. 

Therefore, It is the opinion of this department that the 

"payment" as described In your first question l.s.not "permitted 

by law"; that such situation is amenable to Artl.ile 203, Penal 

CQde, supraj and your question No. 1 is answered in the affirmative. 

In your second question where you say the authorization 

is signed by the father of one taxpayer and the father-in-law 

of another, the individual paying the poll tax is certainly 

not complying with the provisions of Article 2961, R.C.S. 

The statute is soeciflc that such authorization must be "by 

him in writing",- and even more specifically "must be sicd 

by the party who owes the poll tax." 

We, therefore, hold that the individual to whom you refer 

in your second question as having obtained authority from the 

father or father-in-law of the taxpayer, Is amenable to prosecution under Article 203, Penal Code. 

In considering your third question, we note the language 

of Article 2961, Revised Civil Statutes, supra, that if the 

taxpayer does not pay the poll tax himself, It may be paid 

by "someone duly authorized by him in writing to pay the same." 

Under your statement of the facts, the person who was iawh 

"duly authorized" did not pay the tax collector; he substituted still another party who actually paid the money. Certainly here too, the individual paying the poll tax is not 

complying with the provisions of Article 2961, R.C..S., and 

he is not "permitted by law" to make such payment except as 

explained hereinbefore in answer to your first question. It 

is our belief that the oerson actually making the payment, 

under such circumstance‘s, would be amenable to prosecution 

under Article 203, Penal Code. 
Hon. W. C. Huffaker, Jr., page 8 (O-6482) 

With reference to the person who obtained the authority, 

and then passed it on to a third person who actually paid the 

poll tax, your attention is invited~to the language of Article 203, which prohibits the rocuri 

PQll t&X. 

p t?e;dfsvther to pay the 

The statute on this pain 

"Any 3'c. . person who O.O procures another 

to pay the poll tax of a citizen, except as permitted by law, shall be confined in the penitentiary . . o etc." 

The person who actually contacted the taxpayer evidently 

"procured' the person who actually paid the poll tax to do 

SO, and under our interpretation of Article 2961, the authority 

should be directed to a specific person. 

It Is therefore our opinion that both the person who 

solicited the authority and the one actually paying the poll 

tax would be subject to prosecution under Article 203, Penal 

Code. 

The fact situation disclosed by you,?? fourth and last 

question would seem clearly to come within either Articles 

291 or 204 of the Penal Code. 

He would be subjeat to Article 201 because he does not 

comply with Article 2961, R.C.S., supra> in becoming the agent 

to obtain the poll tax receipt, He would not be amenable 

under Article 203 because he does not pay the poll tax of a 

"citizen", the Rexloan under your statement not having been 

naturalized under the laws of the United States, and having 

been born in Mexico. 

He would be subject to prosecution under Article 204, 

because that article does not restrict its application to be 

a "citizen", but he would not seem to be advancing money to 

pay the poll tax of "such other person." 

In closing this opinion we do not feel it amiss to direct 

your specific attention to the provlsion~s of Article 2963, 

Revised Civil Statutes, as amended, It is there specifically 

stated: 

"When in cases permitted by this Title, the 

tax Is paid by an agent, the tax receipt shall not 

be delivered to such agent, but shall be sent by 

mall to the tax'payer or kept and delivered to him 

in person by the Tax Collector o D *" 
. 

Hon. W. C. Huffaker, Jr,, page 9 (O-6482) 

In this connection, reference is also directed to the 

provisions of Article 199, Penal Code, reading as follows: 

"Art. 199* 238 Tax collector unlawfully delivering receipt. 

"Any tax collector who delivers a poll tax 

receipt or certificate of exemption to any one except 

the one entitled thereto and at the time when the 

tax Is paid or the certificate of exemption Is 

applied for, except as specially permitted by law 

shall be fined not less than one hundred nor more 

than one thousand dollars, and shall be removed 

from office." 

We mention the above two statutes because in your opinion 

rauest you refer repeatedly to the procurement of the tax 

receipts by the persons paying the same for others. 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORNEY GENERALOF TEXAS 

By 

Benjamin Woodall 

Assistant 

By 

Robert L Lattimore, 'Jr. 

Assistant 4 

BW:zd