. 

:. 

. . ‘. 

THEATTORNEY GENERAL 

San, II. Jaw8 Karen Opinion Ilo. V-l.?%? 

lvlrtrk!t Atbra6y 

Laredo, Texas Re: Recessity Soi voters ohr 

sixty years 0S a 0 wtko Qo 

not Mbldb la ci & la8 6r 

10,000 fnlzabltaatr QC ROM ' 

Dbar Sir: 

to obtain poll tax exmptlon certlflcates. 

Tour request Sor an opinion concemm tha 

nemorrlty for voters over sixty years OS age who do 

not reside in cltles of 10,000 inhabitante or more 

to obtrln poll. tax exemption certiflcat~a, 

Article 34 OS the Texas ~lectlon COdb [a.B. 

‘6, Acts $Znd Lse., R.S, 1951, ch. 492, p. lOg7) pro9%&s ia part: 

Avery peracm subject to nane OS the 

10~ 

at&ail 

tiarg &irquellficationa who shall h8ve 

the age of twenty-one (21) yeape 

awl who shall, be a citizen of the United 

#Wtor, au who shall have resided In thlr 

Stat0 bnb 4 1) year next preceding an electlm, urd thb I.&hat SIX (6) months tithln 

tlba cmratj ln wIilah ho or she arrert3 to vote 

aball be tlesabd a qualltlemd elector, provi 

Wat any wtbr who 10 rubjbct to,pay a pal P 

tax aadkr theI l&lWB 0r this S*tb, rhm11bavr 

yaia raid tax b6rcp0 osrering to vot6 *t a,wg 

r&otiai la tla.lr Stats am.3 holds a re81ipt~ 

Article 42 OS the Texas BledilOn Code proVUnrl 

Wary veraoh who t,m a lu?sd voter 

0th~6ms6 ma vho 18 exmnpt Tr cn paying 43 

poll tax ahall be entitled to vote with:hc.lt 

bbag mpukrra to pay a poll tex m 
*. 

BOA. 1, James Kazen, page 2 (v-1382) 

obtained his certificate ol’ exemption 

?ran the County T C llector when same 

‘is required by thixpr&ieions of this 

Code.” 

Article 48 of the Texas Election Code provides in part; 

*Every person who Is exempted by law 

Sroa the payment of a poll tax, and who la 

in other Peepects a qualified voter, who 

reai&s in a city of ten thousand (1.9mO) 

Wt@nts or more, shall, before the first 

ai Februsry of the year when such voter 

shall have become entitl.ed to such exemptlon, obtain from the Tax Collector of the 

c@unty of his or her residence, a certificate 

shoving bie or her exemption from the payment 

of a poll. tax. Such certificate shall. entitle such voter to,vate at any electloT 

helcl between the date of Lts issuance and a 

pe 1013 ?f one (1) year from the 31st dq 

dSfa@uarg following its issuance; e i . 

*Although entitled to an exemptian 

cert&?icate. no one shall. vote who does qqt 

p~ssees a current exemtion certificate.” 

IA the case of Huff v, mfriela, 251 8.w. 298, 

299 (Tax. Civ. App, 1923), the court 0a~I.d: 

. The facts show that this voter 

ha8 aot 

“6 

$4 the poll tax and obtained a 

rmm$pt hat would have 6Atithd him to vote 

la the pear 1922, However, he teatlfle& 

b&d he waa born on Fehruarg 1, 1860,, and 

aansequently was 62 mare old OA February 1, 

1922, and therelore exempt from the payment 

IA Attorney Oeneral’s Opinion O-7034 (1946), 

it la said at page 7: 

“The statutes recognize that in saw 

rrslaaa Qo certificate is required, ae, $0 

aul*h’le, ia the case 0S a peraan over 4&g&g 

#b&qrr Oc lgga who &es aot reside In a cit$ 

6f t&n bhouaana inhabitants OF more.’ 
. 

Han, 8. Jemer ICezen, page 3 (V-1382) 

1. 

Ita a kottur epinlon written to Haa. lllbeat 

Nxrr, date@ Jaauary 12, 1850, t:hLa ofi ee he ar 

amsrr, Coua~y AtAmlmy math 6Qay 8~$*atille, 

‘it la not newmary *or thoee votera 

who am exempt from tie payment of poll tams 

of a e, who 

no 0 f ty of 

0 BBCUM exto vote. &.g 

253 83. 298 (Tax. 0%~. App. 

It vial be observed that the Texas Zlsction 

codi3 aateS,aa no provlcllon requiring vaterr over 6ixty 

% 

uam c?i age who do not rurlae in altie of 10,000 lnbltam~ or more to obtain poll tax exemption certiilcatgr i,a order ta vote at elections held in this State. 

Xn the abetmoe of thin provision, it is oil opinion that 

the mls of law announced in the above cam end opinions 

rtlll control8 and 6hP.t the parsons 1nqUfred about are 

not raqtdrsd to obtain poL1 tax exemption certiflcatee. 

(fiaae the City OP Lmsdo in your judicial 

dirtriat har a population of 51,910 lnhabltaat~ acoorQlng to the 1950 lredsrrl Oenaus, it may be helpful. 

if WI pd.& out a mce#It change in th4 law ml@tive to 

voter8 over stity meam of age rssiotry; tn aitbes of 

10,000 tahabltaats or wore obtalw ur;nur$ #MY.& tax 

emrpption cert1Moat4s. 

Zn 1945, tAt3 Ia ialature amaM# 

V.Q&. (Acts 49th ,kg.# 1 84 5, 

provide in part: 

oh. 39, 0. 

“Ycve~y p:rac& who i8 axaa@eu by law 

?rom the pa-at 0% a poll tax, i3mI who 18 

in other r4epeota 9 qualWl4d Wter, vho rusides in a city ot taa thowerd (1~0,000) inhabitants or am-u, shal.1, bsfom the first 

dlrf of February o$ tlm year w&u* *aoh votsr 

8hal bw4 awam4 4ntftlee t,o rwb emaptfon, 

*tesn tror t9rw Tax 40llectar 0r tha cwty 

ai b*s or her reaU.dence, 0 certltlcste mhovLrql; 

Mu 

;"*U& i84r 4X4@SiOll iFPa tk4 &Jlb#bellt Of 

epw . 

*auoh exuspt person shall on oath stets 
%OS8. %. James Kaeea, page $ (~~1-582) 

occupation, the length of' time be has reslbeb 

in said county, and the length of time in the 

city, -and the number of the ward or voting 

preointit In which he rOBides, and shall also 

state his street addresc by name and number, 

Li ambered, an8 the grounds upon which he 

g&mm ewrptlon from the pa-at of a poll 

a' 

. . . 

‘All certificates of exemption sha~ll. 

be renevetl or reissued annually.” 

In Thomas v, Groebl, 147 Tex. 70, 212 9.W.213 

625, 532 (194q the court held that. the Legislature in 

enacting,the ab& amendment *did not intend that voters 

exempted from the payment of the poll tax, who have procured certificates of exemption as required by the first 

paragraph of the amended article, shall 1044 their rtghts 

to vote for failure to procure renewed or r4lseued c(brtliicetes for the current gtiar -” 

However, in this connection the court said at 

page j29: 

“If that had been the Intention of the 

1eSislature in rewriting Article 2958; It 

could very l ashy have been expressed, ae vem 

alearly expressed in Section 2 of Article VI 

of the Can&itution, the intention to me& 

the peym4nt of the poll tax before fibruU?y 1 

.eaoh mar and the DrocurIIU? of a reodiat show- 
Hon. X. Jam& bzen, page 5 (V-1382) 

fail, bJ the UEB OS plain terms which easily 

coul8 Rare been employeb to maIs+ the procuring ofis Peneved 0~ reisausb certlfla*te a 

condition to the exerciring of t’he right to 

vote; it does not even we in comeetlon wl* 

the provision a8 to annual runeval or reianuance of the certificate, or eleevhece, such 

vordr 81 ‘of the yam in whlslr he or rho offers to vato’, which ace use4 in Art&ale 2$68a, 

oc suah vorde ee ‘before . . . he OP she offers to vote,’ whtch vere ussd Ln ArtUile et% 

of 19&S contains merely the stabemantr 

before itr amendment la 1930. The amen~e; 

certificate8 of exemption ehall be renewed OF 

reissued annually. Ia 

tution of the following prrvisionst 

t * Such certlfloate shell entitle 

mmh v&*to vote at say election held betvebn the dete of Its ireuante sad a 

r 

riod 

of 0134 (1) ear from the 3lst Qay of amary 

foll,ovliy( i t 8 issum8*. . * . 

The 52na Le 

!! 

ilrlrturs la prmurwd to have km 

full aware of the ho ala& in Thmal v+ QAW 

By d ,’ e uee of the plern and ,uaequivoCW’ Lm&e%& 

quote,d, it alearly eviQmce4 an 0itrntlon to chaage the 

tav $0 a6 to requ~irs robrrr ow& rixtp pace of age mrld%r in citkr of &O,QOO %nhebitrot# or more to obtain 

alawf 11 ta x l a to q tieertltlcrtes o n before the fir& 

4~ 

VOL 

of ~bruwy of each fear ia oMer to be quallffod to 

at 4o~otlonr Ike14 %n thie State. 

Voter8 over sixty yeare of eec who do 

not reside in citlea of 10,000 inhabitante 

or more are not required to obtain poll tax 
Boa. E. James Kazen, page 6 (Vk~82) 

4me tion aertificates in order to rot& 

et “0 3e eations held in this State. Huff v. 

pfflsla, 251 S.W, 298 (Tex. Clv, hoi,.TV23). 

With reference to voters wet six* 

yeapa of age ~who reelbe In cftler of 10,000 

inhabitants or more, the 52nd LagislstPre 

amentled the law 80 as to make It men$Otory 

that they obtain poll tax exemption aertlficatee mm&ally before the first day of 

Fee;uaw of eech year in order to be quallArt. 3 

vote at elections held In this State. 

, Texas Election Code (X.8. 6 Aats 

a, RoS. 1951, ch. 492, pv lo&, 8B 

AP?ROVBD% 

Everett Eutohlneon 

Yourr very truly, 

PRIOB DAluBL 

Attorney ffeUWel/ 

Xxrcutlvr Aeol8tant 

Price Daniel 

AttO?my fJfH@ral 

JoDml 

*e.EltzlhJ, 

C, Ihvls. Jr, 

Aorlrtdt