### 603

Bon. A. C. Wtiborn Mstrict Attoriwy Rowton 2, Texas 28, 

### 1949

Opinion Xo. V-865.

Re: The applicability of the RSecretBallot Bill" to lmlI6lpa1,independeilt school-distriot,

looal option,road bond, and other electloBs,es&lIslated questions.
.~ Attention:

W. K. Richardson

Reference is made to gom.reqoest of recent date vherein YOU propound a number 

### 0r questiona

### concerninn the a~pliaabi1it.y of the Sewet Ballot Bill to-var

### Loos

\ elecM.oxie

. -

Your fIrat question is as follows,:

"Do the psovlsiow of B. B. 357, present, Legislature,apply to any and all eleations in Rarris county?

Article 2923, V,C.S., the,firststatute In Title 50 on elections,provides:

*The provisions of'this Title shall apply to all electLoneheld In this State except as othemrlseprovided herein.'
\ Article 2978, V.C.S., provides in part%

'In all eleotionsby the people, the vote shall be by Official'ballot', whhh shall be numbered,awl election& so guarded and aonduoted as to detect fraud and preserve the parity of the ballot. Ro ballot shall be wed in voting at;

any general,prilltary or special electionheld to eleot public officers,select candidatesfor office or determinequestlans submIttedto a vote of the people, except theeon. A. c; Winborn, page 2 (V-865)

officialballot. unless otherwlse authorized b&& At the top of the officialballot

e printed in large letters the words 'Official

Ballot.'"

, ~tlcle 2980,~,$.c: ‘ ;*; r&Oh prescrlbes the

form of the officialballot, was amendedby H. Bi 357, Acts of the slat Legislatum;: and said.@tlole~noypm?::. videsi ,- 1.

., *,

i1

_ :

_

_ _.., " ""I" -2~. ?Yrq3 V,'UAii'biilol&

ahall be printedwl'ch black-~ :Ank on alear whlte.paperof uniform style and .' ,of:.sufficient

thi&uess to prevent the marks thereon from being seen through thepaper. The tickets of each,politlcal party shall be placed~oz.prLnted

on one(l)ballot, arranged side by side in colmns qeparated~by a parallel rule. The spaoe which shall contain the title of the office and the name of the caud&late shall be of uniform style and type on z said tickets. .-~.At. .the .~~ead,.c3f.:eaoh..ticket .: " .sbalLbe.,printed the me of-theparty; ', -:.' : tlup~~ '&& 0&&l && &$e sh$li;. & _. i;rj.: I in the top right-handcorwr a detachablestub formed by~.a~perforated-~e~uvhiOh:.shall start two (2) inches~belaw&he top tilght-hand corner of:the.~ballot

ana..?iQall~~qxteqid

two .(Z!)~lnches to t&3: J,eft-:w t$enoe~~~*o.,~the:$op edge:of~:the ballot. T&on the stub thw fom&ther+ ahall be no printing or wrltlng except the number of ~,~suoh~~ballot~m%l

the date:lqnd,deslguatl~ of the election,and th&wmg"l?OTE~ l$O$R'S SI~WATURETO BE AFF'IXED OW TEE REVERSE SIDE.' All~-b~lo~tgs

prepared:.f~S.~art:;;election ehall be nwuber~~~~-:

tonseoutively.,;be~w,aith.~o. 1,:. and the identicalnmnber. tha$ ,appears

on the stub shall also appear in the top left-hand corner~~of,~the

bal.&ot~i.

:,3!hose..Identlcal

numbers. 18 the tdp left-hand corn6r and on the Stub in the;top,:right~:co~~rshalL~be:pr~ted or stamrped~is~.conseaatlve-order, on'all the ballots~.prepared~fer~~eleotl~n,.ti~h a ?eP,: .~ rate nmnber'.fm.~

each baJLgt:j

Matthew,

time .of~ prlnting:and~~before:they amj,div%ded

up and delivered to the~elec>i~~~j.&dges.
,,~, .~.,~ ,, ., .~,, ~,. .

ROJL,

A. C, Winborn, page.3 (V-865)

bwhen a pa&y h@ not mmlnated a full ticket, the,titles. of those nominated shall be in posltl~~opposlte t&e, same office in a full ticket, and the titles of the offices shall be printed In the corresponding posltlonsin spaceswhere no nomln%.tlons have been made, In the blank colums aud independentoolumus, then titles of the offices shall be'printedin all blenk spaces to correspond with a full ticket. When presidentialelectorsare to be voted~ upon, their names shall not appear on the officialballot, butthe names'of the candidates for President; and Vice-President,respectively,of the polltlcal,parties, as defined in the law,.shallappear at the head of thelz~respectlve.tSckets, and t~;votes for presidentialelectors;ofthe va14ousparties shall be oenvass.ed,'counted, and returnsmade in accordancewith Artic&es 30798 and 3079B, @the Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, 1925. When Constltutitil &mndmen~s or other propositionsare tobe voted on, ~IJ?~ saine shall appear cage on each~ballotin uuiform style

\=-e*'.~.~ '~

Article.3109,

as.antezxled, bf Howe Bill 357, prescribesthe same form .of ballot~for~prlmary elections
as that-prescribed In Article 298Oi..

Consequently,

it is not necessary to copy me .p??ovlslons.of said Article,

We next call gouia$tention ~to Sectioni3

5, 7; and 7a of Howe~Blll.357, which read as fql+wsr

"Sec. 5. That Article 3122;Title 50, Chapter 13, oft

t&e Revised Civil Statutes of the State of,Texafi,lg25, be, and the same is hereby amended so as to read as followS: \ ".'ILl.tlcle

5122.~~ Piedaution~

Against Fraud.

'9he~ SW precaut&ans'reqaired~ by law to
secure the purity of a ballot box In general elect~ions,

in regard,%0 the ballot boxes, looking the ballot boxes, sealing the same,watch* rul care of them, the secrecy in preparingthe ballot in the booth or pl&ce preparedfor voting and the prooedure involvingthe removal of the detachable stub end the depositingof the

.

### HOG. A. C, Winborn, page 4 (V-865)

ballot and the stub in the proper boxes shall be observedin all primary slections;l"

'Sec. 7. The provisionsof this Act shall not apply to electionsin whiah voting machines are wed as provided fez elsewhere in this title."

'Sec. 7-A. The provlslonso? Articles 2900, 3008, and 3012, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas, ,1925,

as amendedby this Act, relative to the form numberingand secrecy of the ballot, as well as the procedureinvolving the selectionof the ballot and the removal of the detachablestub, shall apply to all prlmary electionsas well as those held under or by authorityof Chapter 467, Acts, Secoqd Called Sesslon,Forty-fourth Legislature,

as amended, except as provided l.n Section 7 hereof."

\ A carefulaaalysls of the above statutes shows that H.B. 357 is applicableto general,prlmry and local option elections (Cha ter 467, Acts Second Called~ Session, 44th Legislature P with the exception

### 0r electlans where votingmachinesare wed.. Also, the pertinent provialonsare applloableto electionswhere constitutional

amendmentsare voted on, for Artlcle~ 2980 provides that "the ssme shall.appear once on each bal

### lot in unir0m style and type." In order for this 

### orflee to determinewhether the "SearetBallot Bill" 

### IS applicableto electionsother than those just enumratied, it will be necessary for us'to be advised as to the nature 

### 0r the election.

In keepingwith the above statementue now quote *our second and third questionsas foll?ws:

"Is it the duty of the County Clerk to fumi+h stub boxes and ballot boxes, or either 

### 0r same for mnlcipal elections (primaryand geueralj and lndepe%@entschool district eleotlons?

'Is it the imtention

### 0r this Act that Harris County purchase, own,sndprepare the stub boxes to be wed or is It intended that the munlclpalitles and independentschool dlstrlots purchasean6 own their own stub boxes,. .

Hon. A. C. Winborn, page 5 (V-865,)

and at each el&tlon that the County Clerk check and prepare these boxes for delivery to the Ms$rict Clerk?"

We vi11 first aousider the port$.On of~your questionsrelatlve~ to-mimlclpalel?ctlons. This,dlscwzarrlon~wlll

Gt~incltldethe num6rous special elections that may-be held wlthln a city or town, for y+ h?ve not inqu.l.rti.about th& same; Artlcle~2931, V.C.S.,Title 50, ma+3 w part'~ae~pogFz

"All p+c&isQmi of this Title which pre-. '. ~scrlbti

quallfl,cations~~df

voting an&which~regulate~th&hblding:of el@ctlons shall apply to eJ.ectionS

'incltl.eB~+nd~

!a.,"~~

A: "~,. Article 2997; !&C.S;; i?e&ds as followsa

'The expense of 'all city electionsshall be paid by the city3n w@Lch same are held. In all el&cti+i in~lncorpora~ed oitles, towns and villages,lie mayor)~:-$h'.c+t$~ clerk or the governha& bo+yMiaklYdo 'and'pePform each act in oth@r elec$ions- r&qulred.tb.~be~done and perfomd respectltiely by the,oonnty~jadge', countS clerk oti,

the:'cessloi~ers!' co?ti $he j A~~ti&vUw:of

the v&ious ~eleotionstatutesappUc+ble to .cities lMtii?ijOFE$ed:mder the general law reveals that:

said electlana.:~spa~~'be'h~ld and governed by the general laws,ofthis,-,JJtate .axcept as otherwise herein provided." Also, in Article 1165, VX.S., which /
is applicableto ho&mFule c$t+es;'we.find the following languagea; ~, .. .". ~,_I ._. ~I" I( - ;R.o

&a&&r or~tiy ordinances passed under kid chai?ter Shall &ntaln ang provision ~, inconsistent

vith the Co$iltuti,onor general lawS'(if

this State;" .~; ~':

.'.After'a'

earefal '&~3lyals~of the above statutes and the &he+ statutesquot+ in this opinion,we are of the opinion th&t the‘bertinent prmlsions of the Secret Ballot Law eze applic&ble:to ally general.and

prim elections

held in 'cltles.~d towns except where voting machhes~are used'.. Also; iC~is~Our:6pinion'that he expense of all city 6lectiohs ii$all be'paid for by the city in keeping wlth'the~proviai&s MArtlcle 2997.bin. A. c. Wlnbo+ page 6 (v-865) . .

Consequently,

It is the duty of the city to purchase all stub boxes audballotboxea sndpayallexpenses in connection wlth or incidentto the holding of city elections. Further, It la ouv opinionthat the mayor, the city clerk aud the governingbody of the city shall do and perform each aot in the city electionsthat 'isrequired to be done by the Cot&y judge, county clerk and comLeslonersl court in general electloxm. Therefore, there is no duty l~~osed upon the county clerk in connection with city elections. All of the functions that the couaty clerk would ~perform in a general election should be performedby the city clerk in a city election,and the stub box should be deliveredto the district clerk bs the city clerk In order that the~districtclerk may .Gepare th& proper lists and seal said stub box as provided. in Section 3 of Howe Bill 357. Awtti V; City of Alice l!TBd) 193 S.Wa2d 290 (Tex. Civ. App. 1946, error ref.

We next considerportions of your questions 2 and 3 as to whether H.B. 357 imposes a duty upon the county to f'urnlsh,aad prepare the ballot boxes aud stub boxes.for .elect$oua held Ln ludepeudeutschool dletrlcts and,vhetherthe county clerk Is required to perform any duties in connectlou with. said elections; We assume f~can ~0th qwstlons and brler that you.are only concerued vlth the election of school trwtees 3.n lndependeut school dlstricts'and the expense in ccnuectlcutherevlth. Since the school &leetlouslnqulredabout are general in nature, there is no questionbut that the appropriate ~~38.8,"" of the Secret Ballot~Actave applicableto

. \ Artl,cle

2746a,V.C.Si,vhich is applicableto the electlcm of school trwtees iza acdumou sohool districts aud iudependeuteohool districts haviug fever than 500 scholastics reads in part as follows:

- “Any persoa desblag to have his usme placed on said offloialballot, as a caudidate for the office ef trustee of a cowm school district or 0r an wependent school distriot
as herein provided shall, at lewt ten days before said election,file a vrltten request with the cowty judge of the couuty in'vhlch sa3.d district is located,requwtiug that his
name be placed QD. the 0rficialballot, and PO caadMate shall have his .p~llpe printed on saidHon. A. C. Winborn, page 7 (v-865)

ballot -mless~he,~has compliedwith the provi

### sUns 0r w-48Act;~pmmm&d~that rive', or mix-8 resident ,qua&lfled~~voters in the districtmay request that i~&talnnames be printed; The sogty-j*e,:,upon receipt~oi. stiah,liritten

reqw?t;.md &.least five t$ays.before the &lec- .tlon,~shall~~have~the ballota'prlnted

as .provi@ed in this'Act,placing oa.theballot the 

### name 0r each:oan&tdate

w~o~.has.

conq;ilieil'with the~$emus,ofthis Act; and didiver(t$ sufficient numI?er

of printed'ballots and amciunt

of suppll~snecessarg:ror~ swh election to.the presiding ogfio&.of .theelectkmat'ieaat one d@y:before:saM~election1s. to be held, said ele&lon suppilim,ballots,boxes, Gad tally sheets to be deliveredby the ,couaty judge by mail QC @,any o$JkeP znam~ez by him~.deemed

best, to.the presiding.~offIceF of,~saLd

electionin sealed anvglopes

which sh$Ll not,b&'opened by the election~officerknt~lthe d,ay of the election. "The ,expenses ~pf pa$ntlngt~ ballot8 and dellverlng s&@;to the presidiiigofflder, togethervith the other ekp6nsbs~~incideatal to said ,electlon

shall be paid out of the available ,maintenanc~~funds'beloiglng to the school district in.w~ch Baid'election ls,held,,orto be.held:.~

'The, offiirers-of"said.el.~ctian shall be required .to.w'e th&,ballotsso:fwnished by the copnty judge as.ppoflded herein.-.'fbe'elect@n oifioers,,sball.make,retnrns of said elec- ~tlonto the,county judge and certify the result in the same mapner as 16 '.now requtred by law, and did ballot boxe6 whi~hhshall have been -shed by .lboal~~scLi~ol~offioiaia shall~ be sent to the county'judge,~and.said electionreturns shall,be canvassed by:the commtssloners~ court and together:,wlth ballot b6xes 'shall be safely preserved foi. a period of three momths nextafter .the

~date; of .the~ -eleotlou." \ .,.;.

Article,2776,'~V.C.S;:,,ienacte~ in 1915) which is applicable.to.the'electlon~of school trustees in independentschool'dl&m~M-,s having 500 or more scholastics read8

a
"All, ele&.&tisk&l be orderedby the board of tiwtkes of.each independentschool district;and such order shall be made atEon. A. C. winborn,page 8 (V-865)

least +31~daysbefore thedate of election; anda notice of the order shall.bePosted at three differentplaces in the diatr.lct. The board 

### 0r school trustees
- - 

### _ - .- ez- at the time 

### 0r 0r-
- . ._ aerzng sucn election 8na.u appoint wee persons to hold the election,aud shall designate the plqces where the poll8 shall be open

. . . All such electionsshall be held,.amlreturns thereofmade to the board of sahool trustees in accordance

with the general electionlaw. The board of school trustees'shall canvass ' such returns;.declare the result of such election, and issue certificates 0r electionto the ed." persons shown by such returns to beg elect-

\ Sect106 3 of S.B. 157, Acts 44th Leg., R.S; 935, chh;

55, p. 135, Article 2746a, V.O.S., belug the same Act which amended which now appearsas Article 27&b in Vernon's Civil Statutes, is all inclusiveas to election expense?In all common and independent sahool dlstrlcts. Said Article reads as follows:

"All expenseslmmrrea in connection vith '
or lucldentalto any schoo$ dlatrlot election in connection

with the public schoolwlthln such school district shall be pald cUt of the avallablemaintenancefund belorrglng to SUCh district for the fiscal year durlng which such election 1s held, 0~ out of f'uuds accrtrimg

to s&d districtfor iihenextensuingflscalyear; provided,hcwever, that the payment of any such expenses out of the fUnda accrued or to accrue tosach school diiitrlct 

### for the nextfiscal yeas aft,er

the ye& in whlch.suchelection is held shall be authoricedby the county,srzperlnr; tendent prfor ,tothe holdlug of such election.

The present statutm require that all expense8 lncnrred in connetition with or .inoldent

to~any School

.district electFon~shal.1 be paid out,of the available malntemce,fUmd belongingto tich district. Therefore, it is ou@ 6~QxLon that the cost of ball& boxes, stab boxes, election supplles,8nd all other expenses incldent to a school trwtee election shall be paid by the school district rather than the county;. . 

### 611

&n. A. c;-Winborn, page 9 .P-865)~.. .~

From readfng.thestatutes. on school elections and ai1 the prov5s.s'iims of:~HiBi

,357,..we~do

not believe 'thatit-

~s.~.the-

int6ntltm 0r.,the,.Leglslature tl-qit the tounty-Clerk.shouLd ~epar~.~e.ballot..baxea,or the stub boxes for truste6~elections t.o.be.hel&..lq

scbool dlstrlcts;. In this conuection we call your attentlcn to the provl8lon~0r Art.::2746a, ap$l$ga~let,o,common school bistrlctsand independentsOho eatriots having leaa thsn 500 qhel.ast~caj,qhich provides t&at.@@ county judge shalli

have 

### a.+eficiest .nu@er~@ pp$nted ballots, necesaarysupplles,~ ballot boxes,and~taUy sheets,deLlveped to the preslding'officer df said electionat least one.daybefore,,the.eleationg :A180 we.call your attention to the language 'in Art. , as amended by / H.B. 357; which~'read84:\; ,:.: ., ~: I;.

-.n -:,:<.~I, i. :&s.s-box,

r;ili 'b;deGv;;& :t,ihe

,. '... l,i .~. "W election judge .at:

tbe~4iuie~:$l&e

<theregu$ar ,~ boxea~aFe.dia-trlbgted:nnd-,the~ eleC@m.j:t!dge shall return ;tblss.aG% .I?ti~~$o ,the,-qiatrQ$i clerk.@,the time.he: del,l;vers thez,q&r @a$- lot .baxea'~to-%he

,aealg,g&te&,.~~ce.~ ':. I:.

. .."~. ,,.I. - '. _ . ~>..,~~ In view of the fact that,.the county $&e 1s to prepare T and deliver the regulaz.ballot:b~mcea, supp$les,etc., to the presiding judges Of~.$he..electQmS ~&eld~pursu& to Art; 2746a, we feel.that~~t~is.a~so.~~..daty of the county judge to dellver-tbs.:stub.~,bax;to,~~e ~4Zstzlct

clerk for proper~

.prepaI?atlon

and :se,al%ng;.;;:Jlpte~,the stub box is prepared:;an&-sealed by.-the:.d$sta$ct

.olerk; the clerk should return.the saim-to th6 county jUage'in order that the judgemay deliver~said,box.to~-the election judge at the same tine the ballot.$ox.ea and suppllesare dellvered. -.,

Wheu a trustee election.lS held & an independent achool.distrlct~conta$nZng~~O.,or more:sCholaSticS, the same is held in-accordance wlth.theprovislon~of Art. 2776~ .Sinces~ld~statt&te~~oea not impose auy duty upon the county judge.in..$hat4gpeof~ ele@$zm, but, on the contrary,t@e s&oo~;board ,ls.?har@d tith the duty of orderingthe qlectiqn-. appoiatlngthe .persons to hold the election;canvass-the~retVm&s of the~e&ectlon,

etc., it is the:

duty of the board&~trusteem of sam lndependent dist5lct to~prepare'%md~dellver the stub boxes

### 6s!

Eon. Al C. Winborn, page 10 (V-865)

to the.dietrlct

clerk for hls sealing,etoi, aad that the dlstrlct clerk should return said boxes to the board of trustees in orderthattheboardmey del$ver the stub boxes to the presiding judge at the same time the ballot boxes end other suppliesare delivered.

Xour next quebtionis as.follow8:

."How does Section 6 pertainingto abaentee voting oonform to this Act Ia providing secrecy in voting?"

\ Section 6, H.B. 357, reads a8 followsa

~?Yheappr&priate

provlsicnaof t&La Act shall also apply to absentee voting, in which
aase the person castingan abeenteeballot shall not remove the~detachable stub from the ballot. After the ballot has been prepared by the elector, the elector shall affix his signatureon the reverse side of the perfor- ' ated stub aad then shall cast the ballot a8
now providedbyilaw;

."Should

the electorbe unable to sign hi8 name, he shall place the ballot face dowa 80 .~ as not to expose thb.numberof same and shall :$y on the b$ck ef the perforated stub an The attesting officer shall then urlte the elector'sname on the back oi the stub.

%he absenteeballot shall then be delivered to the election judge In the praper re,tnct as is q,~ovlt+ for In ""8 tl-~

. i!.

. .
%erore the eliiction judge depositsaa absenteeballotas elsewhereprovidedfor In this t&tile,

he ahall detach from aaid~ballot the perforatedstub aad place it l.n the stub box. If the name Of the elector ,does.notappear on theremrae side 0r said @8rferated stab the election udge 

### Shall Write the name 

### 0r the elector on the bask of said stub before depoeltlng888~ irr the stub box.'hon. A. c. wlnborn, page.11 (V-865)

A carefal study of.Sectlon~ 6 and the former statutesrelative to absentee voting shows that it is hum8nly impossible

### rar3ihe same_procedure to be followea In absentee voting that %.a followedwhere the voter casts his vote in person. The mere fact that the absentee voter's ballot and stub are placed in the IMSpeCtiVe boxes by the presiding judge.ofthe election vould not render the section on absenteevoting inconsistent vith the other provls$on8of-the Act& because the first sentence in Sec. 6; provides that the a TF=P wovi-w slons of this act shall also apply to a sen ee voting.

You ask ia your 'last.questlon whether the provisions of E;B1 357 (SecretBallot Bill) are applicable to road bond elections held Incounties and road dlstrlcts; .Artlcle752g,,V.C%, which Vas enacted in 

### 1926, providesas .followa:

~"Eae manner.Iof

holdlng~~s~uch

election (roadband elections)and canvasslngand making **returns** thereof aball be governedbythe, 4
general laws 

### 0r this State when not in con-' 'fliot with the provlslonsof~thlstact."(ParentheticalInsertionadded..)

In view of this statute,.we belleve that the “Secret Ballot Bill" is applicableto such elezl&en, and sh~ould

be~folloved; We:are not nnmi h0iaing 

### 0r the court 

### Or Civil-Appeals in 1923 in-the case I gfwLtt v, Rays ,,253 S.W. 6lO;~emor d.lsndssed, to the t that road Lnd electionsare special elections and are not.governed,by the.provlaions

of the general electlon.laws. At.~the time of~thls decision there was a statute similar to Artlcl~ 7528. .I$owever, the statute **was not**  **discwsecl or**  me& 'ed In the opinion 0r the $11 court. Moreover, in more.recentdecisionsdeal- with school elections,the.courtshave held.that statutory i' enactmentss@llar to Article 752g make the proviSion to such elec6 

### (Tax. ‘WV. App. ex; Civ;App: slons we cannot say general law ad bond elections; but we believe.thatthis would be the safer procedure.Hon. A. C. Wluborn,page 12 (v-865)

SUMWARY

The provlslonsof the Secret Ballot Lav; H.Bi 

### 357,Acts 51st I&g;, 

### 1949,are applicable to general,prlm8ry and local option electlons exceptwhere votingmachines are wed. The pertinentp~ovlaionaof said Act are also ap- ~~~ti~t;~ectlow sub3uZttlng Cowtitution-

. The pertineatprovisiow of the Secret Ballot law are applicableto all general aud primary electlow held in cities 8nd towns exceptwhere votingmachines are wed. All sgpplles,

ballot boxes, stub boxes, wed in's city electionshould be paid for by the city
as provided in Artlole 2997,V.C.S., and the city clerk is required to perform each act In
a city electionthat.is required to be done 0 by the county clerk in general elections held Ln the cbwty.

The approp&$e provlslons

### oi+ H;ti.,357.
are applicableto~electlons.heldin. lndep‘e&- ent school district8for the purpose 0r elegtlag aohooltrwtee8, ana all expewes 3.awnfiectlon

with or incident to said eleetlow fihould be paid out ~ofthe maintenance,fwd‘of said SChOOl diStl'i&S..In indewud8litSChOOl dlstrlctsha* 

### rm62 than 500 s&olastlos, it Is the duty of the comity judge to prepare all ballots, tally ~StS, ballot boxe@;stUb boxes and-all other neceeeq suppILesaad deliver them to the proper.p$rtlesi In ludepeadent school districts-wvlng 500 or more ScholaStiw,,

it 1s $he duty 0r the S&O01 boa+ to perform these fuwtlons.

If is advisable to r0im the pertinent pG0visi0ns 0r If;B.



### 357 

### in.rwd bozid

electf+ui held in &&ntles and ~m&d di8trcictSi~&+,A. C. Winborn, page 13 

### (V-865)

Section 6 of H.B; 

### 357, conaernlngabsentee votiag, la not incopsidtent with the Other 

### ~0viSiOnS of the Act. :

Yours.very truly,

ATTORI& GERERALOFTRXAS

JCD:b:bh J. Ci Dads, Jr. Assistant

APPROVBB