a-0.w 

OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

Honorable Oharlem 

Criminal Dlrtriot 

Oorrioaaa, Texar 

Dear 81r1 

AUnTIN 

this Departmnt 

ld on roam dab betwoen now and the 

6, 1940, wa wrbto you rrqueatlng additional 

information oonownlng the above mentlonod quertioa. 

we quote rrom your letter or Augurt 7, 1940, aa rot 

lowrr 
Honorable Char188 T. Banister, Fage 2 

#In rsply to your letter Of August 6, 1940, pertaining to additional information in referonce to the abore 

asationsd oaption, we hrreby quota the request of the 

potltionars and the rssolndlng order as stated ln the 

mlnutss or the Oommlssionsrs~ Court; 

* ’ SPECIAL SESSION 

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 day with the rollowing 

prsssnt I 

County Judge, iaul E. Ulller 

Joe A. 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 

To ths Commlssloners Court 

or Xararro County8 

June 15, 1940 

I, E. T. Miller, as spokesman for the other Five 

hundred SAd forty-two (542) qualified voters of K&varro 

Couty , Texas, who prssented to the Commlsaloners~ Court 

of said oounty a petition asklllg for a epeolal beer eleotion, and beiA& the mime X. T. Killer who presented 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, and earnestly 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 won by 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 aAd hare the Court understand 

that somstlms after the primary we expect to ask you to 

aall suoh slrotlon at some suitable date. 

3. T. Xlller. * 
:!onorable Charles T. SanIstsr, iage 3 

“COnUissioner G4ores than made the iollowIq motion: 

1 move that the notion of the CofmaIssIoAers* Court taken 

herstOtOr* On JUne 13, 1940, Oalling 8lSOtIOA to be held 

On June 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 OA JuAs 13, 1940. 

EOtIoA was seoonded by ComIsslonsr Eitzgerald, and upon 

behg put to a vote, oarrled unanimously. All present 

voted *aye”. 

‘**It is theretore ordered by the Coamissioners* Court 

that the uctloc of the court heretofore tuken OA June 13, 

19&O, oellIr<; a beer elcctior. for &Ae 24, 1940, ba, and 

it ip hereby resckded and wlth&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: 

*%he ooaziesioAer6’ oourt 0: each county in tiia 

state upon its o~ia motloo 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 36 prohibited or 

legalized in such county, and suoii court s&l1 order a 

1ooAi option eleotion whenever ;etItIoned to do so by as 

many as ten (10) per cent or tta ~ualirlaa votera or said 

county, or of any justice ynolr~ot, city or town, taking 

/the votes i’or governor st the last preoedi~ general electlori YS the uaaia for deteraiAIAg the quallried voters In 

any such couuty, or poll tic31 subdivision. dter the rlrst 

local o@lon election held as provided ln tSIs 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 IA said 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 aA ehotiOn 

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 day not less than 

ten (lo) nor more than twenty (20) days rrom the date or 

said order, and the order thus made shall sxpress the ObjsOt 

or such eleotlon and shall 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 uoh ottloora to hold auoh elaotlona aa 

now tequlr.4 to hold genaral eleotlonr.” 

The Taraa Liquor Control Aot further proridaa that 

the olerk Of aald court (ootiaalonera’ oourt) aball peat or 

06Uae to be poatab at leaat one oopy of raid order in eaoh 

l leo tiop rn eo lnoin t auoh politloal aubdiriaion or oounty 

affeofed, for at least air (6) days rlor to the 6~ or thr 

eleOtion, whloh l leotion ahall be he P 4 an4 the return theroof 

Bade in oonformity with the prorlalona of tha general lawa of 

the State, and by the l leotlon ofrloere appointed and quallrla4 

under auoh law. 

%‘ilth reierenoe to an order for an eleotlon, It la 

said in Texas Juriaprudenoe, Volume 16, page ES, that *In all 

oaaea muoh la 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 bo held aufflolent. It has been aald that, compare4 

to the importanoe of effectuating the objeot of every eleotion, 

the question aa to the manner of ordering an eleotlon la of 

tri+tal moment. 

all the requlremek~ it 

Eowever, 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 a number of elector8 auffloient to 

have ohanged the reeult, then the alaotion la nugatory and void.” 

The oomzliaeionera’ oourt, aa a Court of general 

jurlsdlotlon, haa full oontrol over its judgnente during the 

term at which they are rendered, an4 may rorlee or reaolnd ordera 

at the term at which they are made, prorldod that this be done 

before any righta have accrued thereunder. ‘Where the action 

of the court in a partloular oaae 18 judiolal and not admini*- 

trative, the ordera or deoreea may not 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 aa vested rights Is8 not impaired. Aueuat 

A. Busoh & Co. ‘I. Cufleld, 135 9. I. 2441 Collfngaworth County 

t. Myera, 36 S. ‘h, 414; BarerMmn T. Coryell CO., 847 30 R. 

1086; Texas turlaprudanoe, Vol. 11, pe 673. 
Honorable Charles T. Banlater, Page 3 

We believe that the aot of the CommIaelonera* 

Court on June 13, 1940, oalllng a n l leotlon ?or the 84th day 

o? June, 1940, was olearly an admlniatratire oao, aad an l ot 

whloh the Commissioners* Court had a lagal 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, an4 that It was 

their purpose to hare the oourt to oall an l leotlon at aoma 

l ultable data other then the original date ror whioh tha 

l leotlon had been oalled. The atatute (Seotlon Se 0r 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 an eleotlon. Rowever, the 

eleotion must be ordered within a reasonable time after the 

oommlealonera* oourt reoelvos a valid petition therefor. 

When you r&or to the next presidential election 

In November In your inquiry wa presume that you have referenoe 

to the next general election, aa Seotlon 32, aupra provider 

in erreot that ea many aa ten per oent o? the quali?Ied votera. 

of a oertaln oounty or any political 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. 

YOU are respectfully advlaed that it la the opinion 

of thla Department that ii the 542 petitioners who eigned 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 .and the next general eleotlon upon the basil of the Barn4 

petition orlgitally presented. 

Truatlng that the roregolng fully 0nawera your 

inquiry, we are 

Your8 very truly