Hon. Sidney Latham 

Secretary of State 

Austin, Texas 

Dear Slrt Opinion ~0~. O-6204 

Rer Procedure of the 

Republican Party to 

have.lts candidates 

appear on the general 

election ballot and 

related questions. 

We have your letter of reaent date requeatlng the 

opinion of this department on the"questlon stated therein. 

Said letter Is, In part, as follows: 

"Articles 3154-3158, both Inclusive, RCS 

1925, govern the aatlvltles of political parties 

In Texas which cast as many aa 10,000 and less 

than 100,000 votes for Oovernor ln the preaedlng 

general election. The Republican Party ln Texas 

has generally fallen into this classlflaatlon, 

and has continued to funatlon during the year 

1944, preparatory to the coming general eleatlon 

under the provisions of these articles. 

"In accordance with Article 3155 the Republican 

Party, on May 22, 1944, duly filed In this office 

a certlflaate of Its decision to nominate State, 

dlstrlat and county offiaers by convention rather 

than by prlmarg election. 

"Pursuant to Article 3154 the Republican 

Party held a State convention and nominated certain 

candidates for State offices, which have been 

certified to thls office. 

"Pursuant to Article 3156 such Party held 

numerous district conventions on the fourk~ Tuesday 

In August (August 26, 1944) and such dlstrlat 

conventions subsequently certified the nomination 

of various congressional and legislative candidates 

to this offlae. Most of these certificates were 
. 

Hon. Sidney Latham, page 2 

executed by the chairman of the district convention. 

It Is to be noted that Article 3157 provides that 

such certifications are to be made by the chairman 

of the State or district committee. It Is to be, 

further noted that the time of the meeting of such 

district conventions Is fixed under Article 3156 

by the language, 'on the same days as herein prescribed for district conventions of other parties'. 

This Is an apparent reference to former Article 

3135 which fixed the time of meeting of district 

conventions for parties casting in excess of 100,000 

votes as the fourth Saturday In August. This article, 

however, was repealed in 1933. 

"If the group of statutes first above referred to a¬ applicable to the Republican 

Party by reason of their failure to cast as 

many 'ad: 10,000 votesat the last general election, then we Plnd no other applicable statutory 

provisions,. The only other enactments we find are 

Articles 3100-3153 governing parties In excess of 

,100,000 votes;" Articles 3159 to 3162 governing 

,nonpartlsan .and, independent candidates; and Artlcle 3163 governing parties without State organisatlons. The Republican Party would be excluded 

from the, first alassificatlon'bg reason of Its 

numberof votes cast; from the second because it 

Is neither nonpartisan and~lts candidates are not 

independent candidates; Andy from the third because 

It does have a State organization; nor does the 

case of Morris vs. Mlms, 224 S.W. 587, seem to be 

ln point since It applies only to new political 

parties. 

"In the light of the above facts, will you 

please advise this Department upon the following 

lnqulrlesr 

"1 i Can the Republican Party legally perform 

the functions authorized by, and In accordance 

with, the provisions of Articles 3154-3158, both inclusive, for the 194kgeneral election when It cast 

less than 10,OoO votes forqovernor In the 1942 

election? 
Hon. Sidney Latham, page 3 

'2. If you have answered question number 1 

'Yes', then Is a nomlnat~lon made by a Republican 

District Convention valid when such aonventlon met 

on the fourth Saturday In August, but which time 

was fixed by reference to Article 3135 whlah has 

been repealed? 

"3 . Is a certification by a district aonventlon such as Is authorized by Article 3156 sufficient 

If It Is executed by the chairman of the convention 

rather than by the chairman of the district committee 

as required by Article 31577 

"4 . If you have answered question number 1 

'No', then by what procedure can the Republican Party 

have its candidates appear on the general election 

ballot?" 

o-2188: 

Cknerally speaking, It Is stated In our Opinion No. 

,I . . . 

'Section 21 of Article N directs the Secretary 

of State to 'perform such other duties as may be required of him by law'. In so far as these duties relate to elections, these dutles,are enumerated In the 

statutes comprising Title 50 of the Revised Civil 

Statutes, and Title 6 of the Penal Code. Article 

2925, Revised Civil Statutes, dlreats him to 'prescribe forms of all blanks' for ballots, etc., 'and 

furnish same to county judge'. Articles 2926 and 

2979 provide that the death of any state or district 

officer or nominee shall be certified to the Secretary 

of State. Article 2928 prohibits the Secretary of State 

from Issuing certificates of election or appointment to 

anyone *who Is not eligible to hold such offlce under 

the Constitution' . . . Article 2982 requdres the 

Secretary of State to hold a drawing to determine the 

order in which proposed constitutional amendments shall 

appear on the ballot. Article 2997a directs the Secretary of State to examine and approve voting machines. 

Articles 3026a and 3033 direct county judges to mall 

election returns to the Secretary of State, and Article 

3034 provides that he shall open and count the returns 

of elections. Article 3155 requires state committees 

of polltlaal parties whose nominee for governor polled 

between 10,000 and 100,000 votes at the last election 

to certify to the Secretary of State whether they will 
. . , 

Hon. Sidney Latham, page 4 

nominate their candidate by convention or 

primary election. Article 3157 requires such 

nominations to be certified to the Secretary 

of State. By Article 3159, non partisan or 

independent aandldates are directred to make 

application to the Secretary of State to have 

their names placed on the ballot, and Article 

3161 directs the Secretary of State to relay 

the names to the county clerks. Articles 

3168-3173 provide for reports of campaign 

expenditures to be made to the Secretary of 

State. 

"This enumeration of the statutory duties 

of the Secretary of State relating to elections 

Indicates that all of his said duties,are mlnlsterlal in character. Nowhere do we find any 

discretionary power lodged in the Secretary of 

State to authorize him to refuse a place on the 

ballot to the duly designated nominees of any 

political party." 

As stated In the case of Morris v. Mlms, 224 S.W. 

587: 

"Our election laws provide for the nomination 

of candidates by political parties whose candidate 

for governor received as many as 100,000 votes at 

the last preceding general election, and also for 

the nomination of candidates by political parties 

whose candidate for governor received, at the last 

preceding general election, more than 10,000 and 

less than 100,000 votes. The first must be by 

primary election held in the manner prescribed.The 

second may be by primary election, or by nominating 

convention, at the option of such party. AS such 

party elects to make,its nomination by party conventions, It is required to notify the Secretary 

of State of such fact, and thereafter to hold its 

aonvention~ at the time and in the manner prescribed 

by statute." 

There are no other provisions of our 

statut;s'rilatlng 'as to how nominations shall be 

made by a party oonvention, except Article 3163, 

which provides, that persons participating In such 

party primary convention shall have paid their 

PO11 tax, and shall not have participated in the 

conventionor primary of any other party held on 

the same day." 
Hon. Sidney Latham, page 5 

Articles 31.54-3158, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, 

pertain to political parties, whose nominee for governor in the 

preceding general election received as many as 10,000, and less 

than 100,000 votes. The Republican Nominee for Governor received less than 10,000 votes In the 1942 tieneral Election. APparentlg, the Republican Party has followed Articles 3154-3158, 

supra, in making nominations this year, although the nominee 

for governor of said party received less than 10,000 votes in 

the 1942 Qeneral Election. This being true, It Is our opinion 

that the same principles of law announced In the case of Morris 

vs. Mims. supra, is appllaable to the present situation of the 

Republican Party and that such Party can legally perform the 

functions authorlaed by, and in accordance with, the provisions 

of Articles 3154-3158, supra. 

Ferguson, 53 S.W.28 753). 

(See the case of Sterling vs. 

The statutes prescribe no method by which a party 

may make nominations, whose nominee for governor in the last 

preceding general election received less than 10,000 votes. 

Such being the case, It Is our opinion, that such party has 

the right to pursue any reasonable method In making its nomlnations, not prohibited by law. Therefore , your second and 

third questions are answered In the affirmative. As we have 

answered your third question In the affirmative, It becomes 

unnecessary to discuss your fourth question. 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORNEY OENERAL OF TEXAS 

By: /s/ Ardell Williams 

Assistant 

AWirt 

APPROVEB SEP. 25, 1944 

/s/ GROVER SELLERS 

ATTORNEY OENERAL OF TEXAS APPROVED 

Onlnlon Committee 6: /s/ %B 

chairman