**a-0.w OFFICE**  **OF THE**  **AlTORNEY GENERAL**  **OF TEXAS** 

Honorable Oharlem Criminal Dlrtriot Oorrioaaa, Texar

Dear 81r1 **AUnTIN**

this Departmnt

ld on roamdab betwoen nowand the

6, 1940, wawrbto you rrqueatlng additional information oonownlng the above mentlonod quertioa.

we **quote rrom**  your letter or Augurt 7, 1940, aa **rot** lowrrHonorable Char188T. Banister, Fage 2

#In rsply to your letter OfAugust 6, 1940, pertaining to additional information in referonce to the abore asationsd oaption, wehrreby quota the request of the potltionars and the rssolndlng order as stated ln the mlnutss 

### or the Oommlssionsrs~ Court;

*’SPECIALSESSION Saturday, June 15, 1940

a’Thl8 Speolal Session being oalled by the Oounty fudgs, Paul H.Klllsr, 

### ror the purpose or oonsldering the request from a rspresentatirs of the signers of the pstitfon hsretorore riled in this court asking ror the oalling of a spaolal beor eleotlon ln this oounty, was called to order at 2115 o

’olook P. K. this daywith the rollowing 

### prsssntI CountyJudge, iaul E. Ulller 

### JoeA. Georgs, Commlssloner, Preolnot No. 4 C. M. fittgsrald, Preoinot No, 2 Rev. B, T. Miller appeared before the Court and presented the followlng request t CorsloaAa, Texas
Toths Commlssloners Court

**or** Xararro County8 June 15, 1940

I, E. T. Miller, as spokesman for the other Five hundred SAdforty-two (542) qualified voters of K&varro Couty

, Texas, whoprssented to the Commlsaloners~ Court of said 

### oounty a petition asklllg for a epeolal beer eleo

### tion, and beiA& the mimeX. T. Killer whopresented tbs above mentioned petition to the Commiesloners~ Court on June 1, 1940, 

### do, this day, June 15, 1940 ask said Commlssionsrs’ Court to resoind ths motion 0allLg for said eleotion, andearnestly implore your so doing, for the
reason that there is a possibility of a~ukavoldable irrrgularlty ii the prooeeding oallir?g for such eleotion and It.1 that In view of suoh possibility, ii the election should be wonby the 

### dries, aotlon alght be taken in court to set aside said election, thus inourrlng undue expense ror all part188 conosrned. I want to go 

### on reoord aAdhare the Court understand that somstlms after the primary weexpect to ask you to aall suoh slrotlon at somesuitable date. 3. T. Xlller. *:!onorable Charles T. SanIstsr, iage 3

“COnUissioner G4ores than madethe iollowIq motion: 1move that the notion of the CofmaIssIoAers* Court taken herstOtOr* OnJUne13, 1940, Oalling 8lSOtIOA to be held OnJune 24, 1940, to dotermine whether the sale or beer OOctclinis aloohol not esoosdlng Sour per oentum (4s) by Weight, shall be prohibited In Navarro County, be resoinded, aAd that the County Clerk be Instructed not to post AotIces 

### or said eleotion as Qrsriously oulled OAJuAs 13, 1940. EOtIoA was seoonded by ComIsslonsr Eitzgerald, andupon behg put to avote, oarrled unanimously. All present voted *aye”

.

‘**It is theretore ordered by the Coamissioners* Court that the uctloc of the court heretofore tuken OAJune 13, 19&O,oellIr<; a beer elcctior. for &Ae 24, 1940, ba, and it ip hereby resckded andwlth&rtm~. i’he County Clerk 1s hereby ordored not to post notices for asid election.‘”
SeotioA 32

, .*tIole 1, 

### or the Texas Liquor Control Aot reads as rollous:

*%heooaziesioAer6’ oourt 0: each county in tiia state upon its o~iamotloo say order an election to be held by tht; ;uallfled voters cl said osunty, to determine whether or not **t:ls** sale cf liquor shall 36prohibited or legalized in such county, and suoii court s&l1 order a 1ooAi option eleotion whenever ;etItIoned to do so by as manyas ten (10) per cent or tta ~ualirlaa votera or said county, or of anyjustice ynolr~ot, city or town, taking /the votes i’or governor **st** the last preoedi~ general electlori YSthe uaaia for deteraiAIAg the quallried voters In any such couuty, or poll tic31 subdivision. dter the rlrst local o@lon election held as provided 

### lntSIs aot, in ony OouAty, justice preoinot, lnrorgorated tom, or oity, no 3ubse;ueAt election upon the 3~10 Issue IA the aa* r;olItIoal subdlvfnlon shall be held y;IthIa one (1) yea? fron the date of the preceding looal option eleotlon IAsaid OouAty, or said political subdlrlelon of said Oouuty.a

action 33, Article 1, of the Tezao Liquor Control Aot prorIdes that:

“:&en the commissIonerr* court shall order aAehotiOn
as herein provided for, It shall be the duty Of Said OOurt to order such eleotion to be held at the VOtIAg Places wIthIn such subdivision or oounty upon a 

### daynot less than ten (lo) nor more than twenty (20) days rrom the 

### date or said order, and the order thus madeshall sxpress the ObjsOt
or such eleotlon andshall be held to be prima faoh 

### erldenoe that all or the provIsloAs neoessarg to give It validity or to OlOthe the court with jurIsdIotlon to aske It valid,Honorable Charlea T. Banlater, Page 4

“hare 

### bean duly oompliad with, proridr4 that aal& oourt 

### ahrll 

### l &qolnt l



### uohottloora to hold auohelaotlona aa nowtequlr.4 to hold genaral eleotlonr.”
TheTaraa Liquor Control Aot further proridaa that the olerk Ofaald court (ootiaalonera’ oourt) aball peat or 06Uae to be poatab at leaat one oopy of raid order in eaoh l leotion

p reolnot

inauohpolitloal aubdiriaion or oounty affeofed, for 

### at least air (6)days rlor to

### the6~ 

### orthr eleOtion, whloh l leotion ahall be heP 4 an4 the return theroof Bade in oonformity with the prorlalona of tha general lawa of the State, andby the l leotlon ofrloere appointed andquallrla4 under auohlaw.

%‘ilthreierenoe to anorder for aneleotlon, It la said in Texas Juriaprudenoe, Volume 16, page ES, that *In all
oaaea muohla neoesaarlly left to tha dlaoretlon or the ofrioara authorized to oall the eleotion. If the menner of performance ia such as till reasonably aoaompllah the purpose oi the law, It ahould boheld aufflolent. It has been aald that, compare4 to the importanoe of effectuating the objeot of every eleotion, the question aa to the mannerof ordering aneleotlon la of tri+tal moment. 

### all the requlremek~ itEowever, in apeoial or local eleotlona law ahould be substantially if not literally oomplled with. If the failure of the election ofiloera to oomply with statutory requirements haa resulted in a denial of the right to vote to anumberof elector8 auffloient to have ohanged the reeult, then the alaotion la nugatory andvoid.”

Theoomzliaeionera’ oourt, aa a Court of general jurlsdlotlon, haa full oontrol over 

### its judgnente during the term at which they are rendered, an4mayrorlee or reaolnd ordera at the term at which they are made, prorldod that this be done before any righta have accrued thereunder. ‘Wherethe action of the court in a partloular oaae 18judiolal andnot admini*- trative, the ordera or 

### deoreea maynot be 8et aalde at a aubaequent term. Howeyer, 

### the comaisaionere~ oourt haa the power 

### to rescind or vacate an order made in its legislative or adminlstratlve capacity, l-far aavested rights Is8 not impaired. Aueuat A. Busoh &Co. ‘I. Cufleld, 135 9. I. 2441 Collfngaworth County t. Myera, 36S. ‘h, 414; BarerMmn T. Coryell CO., 847 30R. 1086; Texas turlaprudanoe, Vol. 11, pe 673.Honorable Charles T. Banlater, Page 3

Webelieve that the aot of the CommIaelonera* Court onJune 13, 1940, oalllng anl leotlon ?or the 84th day o? June, 1940, was olearly an admlniatratire oao, aad an l ot whloh the Commissioners* Court had alagal right to maoin&. It will be note6 t&t the petltlo~ra through their apoker-n did not dealre or attempt to withdraw the petition prose&e& to the Commiasionera~ Court but only in l ffeot asked that the or&or calling the eleotfon be reaolnded, an4that It was 

### their purpose to hare the oourt to oall an l leotlon at aoma l ultable data other then the 

### originaldate ror whioh tha l leotlon had been oalled. The atatute (Seotlon Se0r Artlole 1, Texaa Uquor Control Aot aupra) providing for looal OptIon elections upon the petitjon of the votera dbia not apeoify the time or the term of the oourt at whloh the oommlaelonera’ court muat lesua auoh order for aneleotlon. Rowever, the eleotion must be ordered within a reasonable time after the oommlealonera* oourt reoelvos avalid petition therefor.

Whenyou r&or to the next presidential election In November In your inquiry wapresume that you have referenoe to the next general election, aa Seotlon 32, aupra provider in erreot that ea manyaa ten per oent o? the quali?Ied votera. of a oertaln oounty or anypolitical eubdlvialon of the oounty, taking the votes for the governor et the laet preoedlng general election as a basla ror determining the quellfled voters In any suoh county or polltlcal aubdlvlalon.

YOUare respectfully advlaed that it la the opinion of thla Department that ii the 542petitioners whoeigned the original petition constitute ten per cent or more of the quallrled votera of raid oounty, taking the votes ?or governor at the laat ?moedlr;8 general election a8 a baa18 ior determining the quallrlea votera In the oounty, the COmmi8SlOnOrB’Court
oan legally call M eleotlon to be held on some date between
now.andthe next general eleotlon upon the basil of the Barn4 petition orlgitally presented.

Truatlng that the roregolng fully 0nawera your inquiry, weare Your8 very truly