, .- 

HE A OECNEY GENERAL 

0,~~ TEXCAS 

Honorable Clyde E. Smith, Jr. 

County Attorney 

Tyler County 

Woodville, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

Opinion No. C-323 

Rer Whether persons in 

military service are 

required to be 

registered voters in 

order to vote for 

federal offices. 

In your opinion request you state that the County 

Clerk of Tyler County has received applications for absentee 

ballots from a number of persons in military service who want 

to vote for the national candidates only, in the coming general 

election, and who have neither paid a poll tax nor registered 

to vote for federal offices without payment of the poll tax as 

provided in Article 5.02a of the Texas Election Code. You ask 

the following question: 

4 

Is a serviceman who is subject to payment 

of the poll tax entitled to vote for federal 

offices if he has neither paid the tax nor 

registered in accordance with Article 5.02a of 

the Election Code? 

As a general qualification for voting in Texas, a 

person'who is subject to payment of the poll tax must have 

paid the tax prior to February 1 preceding the election. Tex . 

Const., Art VI, Sec. 2; Tex. Elec. Code, Art. 5.02. With 

respect to the 1964 general election, this requirement would 

mean that every person who-was a legaliesident of Texas on 

January 1, 1963, and was between 21 and 60 years old on that date, 

met,have paid the 6tBte poll taxby Jmiiuery 31, 19G4, in ,order 

to vote in-the election. Persons who b7ere not 21 years old on 

January 1, 1963, or who were not legal residents of the State 

(i.e., who were not claiming Texas as their place of domicile 

or permanent residence) on that date, but who will have attained 

age and residence requirements by election day, are required 

to obtain a certificate of exemption from payment of the poll 
Honorable Clyde E. Smith, Jr., page 2 (C-323) 

tax at least 30 days before.the date of the election. Tex . 

Elec. Code, Art. 5.17. 

The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, 

which was ratified in late January of 1964, prohibits a State 

from requiring payment of a~poll tax as a condition of,voting 

for the! offices which we refer to in this opinion as "federal 

offices." Section 1 of the 24th Amendment reads as follows: 

"Section 1. The right of citizens o,f the 

United States to vote in any primary or other 

election for President or Vice President, for 

electors for President or ,Vice President, or 

for Senator or Representative in Congress, 

shall hot be denied or abridged by the United 

States or any State by reason of failure to 

pay any poll tax or other tax." 

In anticipation of the possible ratification of the 

24th Amendment, which Congress had proposed in 1962, the'Texas 

Legislature in1963 enacted Article 5.02a of the Texas Election 

Code as contingent legislation to become effective in the event 

the proposed federal constitutional amendment was ratified. The 

date on which the Texas statute *as to go into:effect was fixed 

as "the date of publication of the certifying statement of the 

Administrator of General Services that the amendment had become 

valid as a part of the Constitution of the United States." That 

certi,fying statement was published on February 5, 1964. Accordingly, Article 5.02a took effect on that date. 

Subdivision 1 of Article 5.02a reads: 

"Subdivision 1. Qualification and requirenrents 

for voting for federal offices. Notwithstanding any 

other provision of this Code or of the Constitution 

of this state, the payment of the poll tax shall not 

be required as a condition for voting for United 

States Senator, for United States Representative 

(including Congressman-at-Large), or for President 

and Vice-President or electors for President and 

Vice-President of the United States, in any general, 

: special, or primary election. To be eligible to vote 

for such offices, a person must be a qualified elector 

under the Constitution and laws of this state in all 

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Honorable Clyde E. Smith, Jr., page 3 (C-323) 

other respects, If he is not subject to payment 

of the poll tax, he must have obtained an exemption 

certificate in accordance with the provisions of 

this Code if he is required to hold an exemption 

certificate as a condition for voting generally. 

If he is subject to payment of the poll tax, he 

must have paid the tax and obtained a receipt 

therefor prior to the first day of February 

preceding the election; or he must have obtained 

a poll tax receipt without payment of the tax, in 

the manner and within the time provided in 

Subdivision 2 of this section." 

Subdivision 2 provides in part: 

"Subdivision 2. Issuance of poll tax receipts 

without payment of the tax. A person who is subject 

to payment of the poll tax and who is in other 

respects a qualified elector may apply to the tax 

collector of the county of his residence at any 

time between the first day of October and the 

thirty-first day of January following for issuance 

of a poll tax receipt without payment of the tax, 

to be used to identify him in voting for offices 

enumerated in Subdivision 1 of this section during 

the voting year beginning on the first day of 

February thereafter; provided, however, that a 

receipt to identiL@ the voter at elections held 

during the voting year in which this section takes 

effect may be obtained at any time within the 

period of thirty days after the effective date * * *." 

Under the provisions of Article 5.02a, a person who 

is subject to payment of the poll tax must either have paid the 

tax or have obtained a poll tax receipt without payment of the 

tax within the prescribed time limits, The registration period 

for the current year under S&division 2 of Article 5.02a was 

from February 5, 1964 through l%rch 6, 1964. These requirements 

apply to persons in military service as well as to all other 

voters. 

Subdivision (i) of Section 459, Title 50, Appendix, 

United States Code, should be noticed. It reads as follows: 

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Honorable Clyde E. Smith, Jr., Page 4 (C-323) ,, 

" * * * No person inducted into, or enlisted 

in, the armez forces for training and service under 

this title &J'niversal Military Training and Service 

Acti shall, during the period of such service, as a 

condition of voting in any election for President, 

Vice President, electors for President or Vice 

President, or for Senator or Member of the House of 

Representatives, be required to pay any poll tax or 

other tax or make any other payment to any State or 

political subdivision thereof." 

This statute, enacted in 1948, makes a similar provision with respect to persons fulfilling their military duties 

under the Universal Military Training and Service Act as that 

which the 24th Amendment now makes the, law of the land with 

respect to all persons. Although a State may not require any 

person to pay a poll tax as a condition of voting for the 

listed offices, neither the statute nor the Amendment affects 

the power of a State to require registration, where no charge 

is made therefor, as a condition of voting for these offices. 

Effectiveness of Article 5.02a of the Texas Election Code was 

made conditional on ratification of the 24th Amendment, but it 

covers all voters subject to payment of the poll tax and requires 

registration of all such voters who wish to qualify for voting 

for federal offices without payment of the tax, regardless of 

whether the source of their entitlement is the 24th Amendment or 

the Universal Military Training and Service Act. 

The question you have submitted is of general interest 

to county officials throughout the State. It appears that there 

has been a widespread misunderstanding among military personnel 

on the requirements for qualifying to vote for federal offices 

without payment of the poll tax. It is hoped that the misunderstanding will be eliminated by a recent publication issued by 

the Directorate for Armed Forces Information and Education, 

Department of Defense, Washington, D. C., which supplements its 

publication "Voting Information 1964," and incorporates changes 

in the laws cfthe various States since the basic material in 

that publication was distributed. The supplement, issued under 

date of September 4, 1954, contains the following statement on 

Texas law: 

"Persons who registered under the new 

registration system for voting for Federal 

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Honorable Clyde E. Smith, Jr., page 5 (0323) 

offices without payment of the poll tax 

(effective 5 February 1964) prior to 6 March 

1964 may vote in the General Election for 

President, Vice~:Pretident, U. S. Senator, and 

U. S. Represeniztives. Persons who did not 

register under the new system on or before 

G March 1964, and who did not pay the poll 

tax, are 'not eligible to vote for Federal 

officers in the 3 November 1964 General 

Election." 

In order to be eligible to vote for federal 

offices in the 1964 general election, a person 

who is subject to payment of the state poll tax 

must either have paid the tax by January 31, 1964, 

or have registered to vot,e for these offices without 

payment of the tax, as provided in Article S.02a 

of the Texas Election Code, by March 6, 1964. These 

requirenients apply to voters who are in military 

service as -11 as t,o voters generally. The term 

"federal offices" includes the following: President, 

Vice President, electors for President or Vice 

President, Wited States Senator, United States 

Repres,entative (including Congressman-at-Large.J 

Pours very truly, 

WAGGONW CARR 

Attormy General 

MRWtsj:bk 

APPR(NED: 

OPINION CWITTti 

W. V. Qeppeft, Chairman 

Linward Shivers 

Pat Bailey 

Kerns Taylor 

Jerry Brock 

Assistant 

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Honorable Clyde E. Smith, Jr., Page G (C-323) 

APPROVED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: Roger Tyler 

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