Honorable Joe Reaweber Opinion No. ~-711 

County Attorney, Harris County 

Harris County Courthouse Re: Whether it is permissible 

Houston, Texas 77002 to use in the general 

election voting machines 

having a straight ticket 

lever connecting arm 

between the contested 

race columns and the unDear Mr. Resweber: contested race columns. 

Your recent letter to this office requests our opinion 

upon the above matter. The factual basis for your opinion request is stated in your letter which we quote as follows: 

"The effect of the use of the 'straight 

ticket lever connecting arm' as presently installed on voting machines to be used in the 

forthcoming General Election is that when a 

person wishing to vote a straight Democratic 

Party ticket pulls the 'straight ticket lever,' 

or as is sometimes called the 'party lever,' 

for Democratic Party candidates in the column 

of contested races, the pulling of such lever 

also triggers the mechanism for also registering his vote for all, the Democratic Party candidates in a aeparat,e and different column containing only the names of candidates in all of 

the non-contested races. In this separate and 

different column of non-contested races, there 

are only DemoCratic Party candidates, there being no Republican Party candidates who are running-%opposed or in any non-contested race. 

"Thus, a voter wishing to vote a 'straight' 

Democratic Party ticket need only pull the 'straight 

ticket lever,' or 'party lever,' above the column 

of Democratic Party candidates In the contested 

races, and he thereby registers his vote for all 

Democratic Party candidates who are running for 

election, in both the contested as well as the 

non-contested race columns." 

-3435- 
Hon. Joe Resweber, page 2 (M-711) 

The situation which you pose for our consideration is 

governed by the provisions of Section 8 of Article 7.14 of the 

Texas Rection Code. Although you point out that there are only 

Democratic candidates in the uncontested races, the Texas Election 

Code makes no specific provision for this situation and it must 

be considered as though the persona in the uncontested race column 

are not all of the same party affiliation. Section 8 of Article 

7.14 reads as follows: 

"Sec. 8. Form of ballots on voting machines. 

All ballots shall be printed in black ink on white 

clear material, of such size as will fit in the 

ballot frame, and in as plain, clear type as the 

apace will reasonably permit. In all elections, 

general, special, or primary, a designating 

letter and number may be affixed to the name 

of each candidate. In general elections, the 

party name may be affixed to the name of each 

candidate, and the names of all candidates of one 

political party shall be so arranged that a voter 

may be able to cast his ballot for such candidates 

as he may desire or to cast one ballot for all the 

candidates of that political party. In primary 

elections, however, the ballot shall be so arranged 

and the lever so locked as to prevent the voting 

of straight tickets. Should there be so many 

candidates and/or propositions to be voted upon 

in any election as to exceed the capacity of one 

machine, more than one machine shall be provided 

for each polling place, but in all cases where 

more than one machine la necessary to list the 

entire ballot, the names of all candidates for any 

particular office shall be placed on one machine. 

In lieu of using an additional machine for listing 

the ballot, uncontested races may be placed in a 

separate column headed 'Uncontested Races,' with 

the name of each candidate appearing under the 

title of the office for which he is a candidate, 

and if the election is one at which party columns 

appear on the ballot, the party affiliation of the 

candidate shall be indicated by printing the name 

of the party which nominated him (or the word 

'Independent' if he is an independent candidate) 

after the candidate's name; and all such uncontested 

races shall be voted on as a block, and the requirement of this section that the ballot in general 

elections be so arranged that the voter may be able 

to vote a straight ticket for all candidates of one 

-3436- 
Hon. Joe Resweber, page 3 (M-711) 

political party shall not apply to candidates appearing in the uncontested column. However, in 

no election may the ballot be so arranged that a 

voter is able to vote as a block on propositions. 

"If the authorities charged with holding the 

election determine, in their discretion, that more 

than one voting machine is necessary to accommodate 

the number of voters voting in an election precinct, 

then as many voting machines shall be used for each 

precinct as such authorities deem necessary, and 

the same form of ballot containing the names of 

all candidates and/or propositions arranged in the 

same manner shall be provided for each machine." 

(Emphasis added.) 

From the underscored portion of the statute just quoted 

it is clear that all uncontested races "shall" be voted on as a 

block. We construe this to mean that a voter must vote for all 

candidates in the uncontested column or none at all. The statute 

proceeds further to provide that the requirement that in general 

elections the ballot be so arranged that a voter may be able to 

vote a straight ticket for all candidates of one party is not 

applicable to the uncontested race column. Taking these two requirements together, we conclude that a voter must vote for all of 

the uncontested candidates or for none of them, and that a straight 

ticket lever is not authorized for the uncontested race column. 

You are therefore advised that in our opinion a connecting arm lever from the straight party lever in the contested race 

column to the uncontested race column is not authorized by the 

Texas Election Code, and in fact it is specifically prohibited by 

the underscored provisions of Section 8 of Article 7.1'1 quoted 

above. 

This opinion is not to be construed as passing on the 

validity of that portion of Section 8 of Article 7.14, aupra, 

which requires that, 

II . . . all such uncontested races shall be 

voted on as a block, . . ." 

SUMMARY 

Section 8 of Article 7.14, Texas Election Code, 

prohibits the use of a connecting arm between the 

straight party lever in the contested race column 

-3437- 
Hon. Joe Resweber, page 4 (M-711) 

to the uncontested race column. 

Prepared by John Reeves 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman 

Willi .am J. Craig 

Roland Allen 

Max Hamilton 

Gordon Cass 

J. C. Davis 

MEADE F. GRIFFIN 

Staff Legal Assistant 

ALFRED WALKER 

Executive Assistant 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant 

-X38-