GERALD c. MANN AXJSTIN ~1. Texan

Honorable L. D. Bartwell CountyAttorney-;

Hunt County Greenville, Texas Dear Sir: OpLntonNo. Q-2529

mltted Re: Payment of-city poll tax as prerequisite to voting; dlscrlmlna- .tlonas to sex. We acknowledgereceipt of your Inquiryrecently subfromwhich we quote: "TheCity of Wolfe City InHunt County, Texas, through its officials, have published a statement that the male populationresiding In that citywill be required to present a city poll tax before they will be permitted to vote in a countyprimary election to be held on July 27th and further declares that this rule shallnot apply to female voters. This is a new rule publishedby the City Council.
"Iwould like a ruling of the Attorney General's Office as to whether the election judgesmay permit female voters to vote In a county prlmarg electIon in the Wolfe City box without having paid a cltg poll tax, and at the same time prohibit the male voters to vote In the same electlon without paid the city poll tax." having

It iswell settled that titlesmay levy and collect an annual poll tax. Article 1030,Revised Civil Statutes:

"The City Council shall have power to levy and collect an annual poll tax, not to exceed One ($1.00)Dollar of every inhabitant of said city over the aae of twenty-one (21)and under sixty (60)vears, those persons exempt by law from paying the State Poll Tax excepted,who is a resident thereof at the time of such annual assez3sment.l'(,gmphasls ours)Honorable L. D. Hartwell, page 2 O-2529

Article 2955, Revised Civil Statutes, reads in part as follows:

"Everyperson subject to none of the foregoing dlsquallficatlons * * * shallbe deemed a qualified elector * * *; provided that any voterwho is subject to pay a poll tax under the laws of this State or ordinances of any city or town In this State, shall have paid said tax before offering to vote In any election In this State and holds a receipt showingthat saidpoll taxwas paid before the first day of February next preceding such election * * *" Our Opinion No. 0-969, approved June 21, 1939, holds that the two articles just quoted,when considered together, disqualify all voters In all electionswho fail to pay thelr city poll taxes in the manner and within the time provided by law. See Powell v. City of Baird, Civ.App., 127 S.W. (2d) 206; Ibid, Supreme Court, 128 S.W. (2d) 786.
From your letter, however, it appears the City Council of Wolfe City has decreed (by ordinance,we presume) that only male voters shall be required to present a citypoll tax receipt in order to vote in the July primary,whereas female votersmay vote In such electionwithout having paid such tax.

Prior to the adoption of theNineteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitutionproviding that "theright of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex; Article 1030,R.C.S., supra,read as follows:

"The City Council shall have power to levy and collect an annual poll tax, not to exceed one dollar, of everymale inhabitant of said city over the age of twenty-oneand under sixty years, etc." (Emphasisours) The statutewas amended by theFort (Acts 1931, 42nd Leg., p. 377, Ch. 223, -secondLegislature 817, the word? "of every inhabitant of said city being substituted for of every male inhabitantof said city." Ghus obvious, The intent of the Legislature

without resort to construction;any argument or contention to the contrarybeing entirelydispelled by reading the emergency clause of the amendatoryAct: "The fact that under the present law onlymale inhabitants of,,cities are subject to poll tax creates an emergency, etc.

You are therefore advised that the City Council of. .

Honorable L. D. Hartwell, page 

### 3 O-2529

Wolfe Citymay not legally require a city poll tax of male persons as a conditionprecedent to the privilege of suffrage, while granting the ballot to femalevoters not otherwise exempt,who do not pay the tax. Yours very truly ATTORRRYGEHERAL OF TEXAS
By s/BenjaminWoodall BenjaminWoodall

Assistant
BW:EP:wa

APPROVED JULY 

### 15, 1940 s/Grover Sellers ATTORNEYGENERAL Approved Opinion CommitteeBg s@B Chalrman