Hon. Riley Eugene Fletcher 

County Attorney 

Navarro County 

Corsicana, Texas 

Deer Sir: 

April 8, 1953 

Opinion No. S-27 

Re: Authority of the commissioners’ court to 

include adjacent rural 

territory within the 

election precincts for 

a city of more than 

10,000 inhabitants. 

You have requested an opinion as to whether the Commissioners’ 

Court of Navarro County may include adjacent rural territory within any 

of the election precincts establishe,d for the City of CorsicanaO which has 

a population in excess ef 10,000 inhabitants and is divided into five wards, 

In your brief yeu have reached the conclusion that the court may not do so 

We agree with this conclusion. 

Se,ction 13 of the Texas Etectioa Co& (Vernon’s Electiea Code, 

Art. .?.QS) pravidee: 

“The cenmsiosieners oourt, in establishing new eloctim 

precincts, shall divide any city or town into as many election 

precincts as they may see proper, none of which shall have 

resident therein more than two thousand (2,SlIfJ),~ as 

ascertained by the vote of ahe preceding general city or town 

election. Every ward in every incorporated city, town or 

village shall constitute an election precinct, unless there 

shall have been cast in said ward, at the last general city or 

town election hsld therein, more then two thousand (2,000) 

votes. Cities and towns, and towns and villages incorporated 

under the general laws shall not necessarily constitute electien precincts. No precinct shell be made out of parts of two 

(2) wards. This Section shall not apply to cities* towns and 

villages of less than ten thousand (10,000) inhabitants; andp. 

in such cities, tewns and villages, the justice precincts in 

which said cities: towns and villages are situated may be divided into election precincts without regard to the wards of 

such cities, towns and villages, and without reference to the 

number of votes to be cast.” 

This statute requires that each ward in a city of 10,000 or more 

inhabitants constitute a separate, distinct ele,ction precinct or precincts, 

and it would not be proper for the commissioners” court to include either 
Hon. Riley Eugene Fletcher, page 2 (S-27) 

incorporated or unincsrperated territory outside the ward within asky ef 

the precincts into which a particular ward is divided. While the inclmaien 

of -- other ~~.~ territorv would not necessarily invalidate electieas held in accordante with the impraperly formed precincts [Davis v. State ex rel. Wren, 

75 Tex. 420, 12 S.W. 957 (18g9); Bell v. Faulkner, 8’4 Tex. 117 19 S W 

400 (1092); Ilk park White, 33 Tex. Ciim. 594-2% S.W. 542 (Ai94)],‘&ertheleos &e cemmiedieners’ court is under a d&y te ebaerve the statutory 

requirements and shanld net knowingly disregard them. 

SUMMARY 

The commissieners’ ceurt should net include adjacent 

rural territory within the electia precincts established in 

the wards of a city having 10,000 or mere inhabitants. 

APPROVED: Yours very truly, 

C. K. Richards SQfw BEN SHEPPERD 

Reviewe,r Atkerney Generrl 

WjllIs =Ea.GEcskm 

Reviewer 

Robert S, Trotti 

First Assistant 

John Bem Sheppard 

Attorney General 

w v rrcf ‘t’ulclc 

*rY . Wall 

Aesistaut