THEAIS'ORNEY'GENERAL 

op TEXAS ,, 

PRICE DANIEL 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

December 15, 1949 

Hon. Jep 8. Fuller Opinion No. V-970. 

Crlmlnal District Attorney 

Jefferson County Re: The applicability of 

Beaumont, Texas the “Secret Bellot Law” 

Dear 

date 

?ffatzyn 7, Article 2997a, Vernon18 Civil Statute8, provlaes m part: 

to paper ballots used 

for absentee voting in 

eleotions employing 

voting machines for 

Mr. Fuller: other balloting. 

Reference 1s made to your request of recent 

which reads In part as follows: 

“The Commissioners t Court of Jefferson 

County has, by order duly passed, adopted 

voting machines for use in elections in said 

However, the Court propose8 to use 

i,bE?&llota in rpbh eloatioar for tha putP 

oees of rbsentae voting. As a rmult, the 

ollowlng question her arisea. of whfob we 

re;ytfully request the oplaioa of your of- 

: 

“Does the ‘Secret Ballot Law’ apply 

when paper ballots are uaed in, absentee votlng in eleotlona wherein voting mechines are 

employed for other balloting?” 

“In couatler Ln which votia(l sachiaea 

are adopted for use, the authority charged 

with holding an eleation shell within Its 

dlacretlon determine w proper resolution 

and/or order whether or not voting mrohLnes 

shall be used for the casting of absentee 

votes at such electlon . . S Should the 

authority charged with holding en election 

determine by such resolution as above provided, that absentee votes cast at such 

election be cast by a paper ballot, then, 
Hon. Jep S. Fuller, page 2 (V-974) 

and in such event, the authorfty charged 

with holding such election shall provide 

a ballot for the casting of absentee votes 

as prescribed and provided by the general 

laws applicable to elections and to absentee voting and those entitled under the 

law shall cast their vote by such ballot 

under the laws applicable to absentee votin&, o * .I’ 

We next aall your attention to sectfons 6 and 

7 of House Bill 35 

ter 329, page 615 I 

, Acts 51st Legislature, 1949, ChapSecret Ballot Law) which read as follows : 

“8eotion 6 / The appropriate provisions 

of this Act shall also apply to absentee voting, in which case the person castfng an absentee ballot ahall not remove the detachable 

stub-fro* the ballot. After the ballot has 

been prepared by the elector, the elector 

nhall affix his signature on the reverse side 

of the perforated stub and then shall cast 

the ballot as now provided by law, 

*Should %he elector be unable to sign 

his name, he shall plaae the ballot face 

down so as not to expose the number of same 

and shall sign on the back of the perforated 

stub an ‘X. s The attestfng officer shall 

;rs;;.%e the elector ls name on %he baok of 

e 

“The abeentee ballot shall then be dellvered fo the election judge in the pPoper 

preoipat aa ie now provfded for Zn this title. 

“Before the election judge deposits an 

absentee ballot as elsewhere provided for In 

this title, he shall detach from said ballot 

the perforated stub and place it in the stub 

box. If the name of the elector does not appear on the reverse side of aald perforated 

stub the election judge shall write the name 

of the elector on the back of said stub before depositing aa04 in the stub box. 

“Sec. 7. The provisions of this Aot 

shall not apply to eleotlona in which vo%Lng 
HOU, Jep a* Fuller., page 3 (V-970) 

machines 6re used as ppovfded for elsewhere 

in this title i ” 

There appears to be some oonfllct be%ween the 

PPoVlaioM of the above quo%& statute@; h:wey, ea 

stated by the court., in the cake of Hood v S ate, 133 

Tex. 110, 126 S.W.2d 4 (1939): 

“It IS the aett’led lew tha$ statutea 

should be construed so as %o camy out %&he 

legfslrtlve intent, and whan auoh intent fs 

owe rroertained, It should be gfven effect, 

even though the literal meaning of the words 

used %herefn Is no% followed. Also ststutes 

should never be given a aonstruction that 

leads to -uncer%afnty, fnjuatfoe OF confusion 

If It fs possible to eonatrue %hem otherwise.* 

If we should @on&r: dSecticln 7 of House Bill 

357 (Secret Ballot LaF) ? .o mean that. ;>he appropriate 

provisions of that Aot have no applfeatFon to paper ballots wed for all absentee vo%Fng fn eleatlons employing 

voting machinea for other balloting, then &his would 

lead to confusfon and uncertainty” I% is definitely 

provided in Seotlon 7 of Ar%fole 2997a (Votfng Machine 

Law) that where paper ballots are used for oaating all 

absentee votes that “the authopfty charged with holding 

such eleotlons shall provfde a ‘ballot for the oeatiug 

of absentee votes aa ppeseFibed end provided by the geaera1 laws eppleoebfe to elso%i.ons and to absentee voting 

end those entf%led nadep the law shall aas% %hefr vote 

by such ballot under the laws applfcable to absentee voting.” Moreover, the general Paws applloable to absentee 

voting have been emended by the apeaiffo plsovleiona of 

Section 6 of House Bill 357 (Secret Ballot Law) and the 

other approprfate provisions of that Aat. 

After a careful analysis of the forego&r&g rtatutes and the above authority, it la OUF opinion that the 

appropriate provisions of the “Secret Ballot Law” are a - 

plicable to absentee voting in elections Where Paper be P - 

lots are used for all absentee voting, and voting mechilies 

are employed for other balloting, 

SUMMARY 

The appropriate provisions of the “Secret Ballot Law” are applicable to absentee 

voting in eleotiona where paper ballots are 
-- . 

Hon. Jep 9. Fuller, Page * (v--o) 

ured for all absentee voting, and votiw 

machines are employed for other balloting. 

seoe6, H.B.357, Acts 51st Leg.,1949, ch. 

329, p.615. 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORIKX GBRRRAL OF TEXAS 

JCD:bhsmw BY 

J. C. Davfa, JP. 

As818tant 

APPROVEP