Ronofable H. Fat Edwarda

Civil M&riot Attorney Reoords tillding iallas County Danas, Texas
Attention: Mr. Warren S. Cook
Eoar nir: Opinion Ro. o-5&1 Rer Authority of.the Tax Asaoseor and Colleotorto issue'svoter a ,duplicate,% poll tax receipt, oraoertifioatathat a person' has previously paid his poll tax; and related subjeots.
We acknowledgethe receipt of your **letter** of February 28, 1944, in which you ask the department*sopinion on the following questions: "(1) Is the Tax ~Assessor and Collectorauthorized to issue to a voter a duplicatepoll tax reoeipt? :,i2) 1s the Tax Assessor and Collector authorized to issue certificates oartimng that a person has previously paid his poll tax on a certaindate? "(3) May an eleatorwho has paid, his poll tax and has had a poi.1

tax receipt issued to him vote in person at the regular pol.18

or by absenteeballot by prassnting to the proper person a dupliaatepoll tax receipt or a certificate Lssuad by the Tax ~Aseessar and Collector certifying that said alactorhas paid his ~01~1 tax on a **certain** data? "(4.;May an elector vthois exempted from paying his pa:1 tax and haa been issuad an exemption oertifi.cafe vote at an election held, by absentse ballot or in **peF8On** by presentdng to tha proper person ,acertificateissued by the Tax **AW~SSOF** and Colleotoroertiryjng that said person is exempted from paying a poll tax and an exemption aertifioatehas previouslybeen issued to him?"

~exaa Constitution,Article VI, Seotion 2, provides:Honorable H. LJat Edwards, page 2 O-5881

**I,**

**. .**  **.** .thatany voter who is subject to pay a poll tax under the laws of the Stats of Texas shallhave paid said tax before offering to vote at any election in this State and hold a reoeipt showing that said poll taxwas paid before the first day ofFebruary **next** preoeding suoh election. Or if saidvoter shall have lost ormisplaced said tax receipt, he or she, as the easemay be, shall be entitled tovote upon making affidavitbefore any officer authorized to administer oaths that such tax receipt has been lost. Such affidavit shallbe made inwriting and left with the judge of the election.
.... And this provision of the Constitutionshall be self-enaotingwithout the necessity of further legislation.

n

. . . . Article VI, Section 4, of the Lonstitutionempowers,theLagislature tomake "regulationsa8 may be necessary to detect and punish fraud and prese~a the purity of the ballot box and the Legislature may provide by law for the registration of all voters in all cities containinga population of ten thousand inhabitants ormore."
In 1904 our Supreme Court in Stinsonv. Gardner, 97 Tex. 292, 78,s.W. 492, construingthewords "hold a receipt" said:
'"It might be inferred from the latter part of the quotation that it was intended thevoter should have his poll-tax receipt at the placewhere ha voted, but there is no provision in the Constitutionwhioh requires that the reoeipt shall be exhibited at the time ofvoting. It only requires thevoter shallhold his receipt that is, that he shall have procured and have possession of the reoeipt, and, if it has been lost, then, in order to vote, he must make the affidavitwhich the law requires.
..." The followingyear (1905) the Terrall-ElectionLaw was passed, This lawwas a general overhaulingof our election laws. Seation 66 of the Terre11Gleotion Laps(Acts 1st C. S. 1905, p. 533 is Article 3004, R. S., 1925. Stinson v. Gardner, supra,was decided under a prior form of the statute requiring only that the voter have a reoeipt, Article 3004,whioh supersededthe cited quotation from that case, is aa follows: "No citizen shall be permitted tovote, unless ha first presents to the judge of eleotionhis poll.tax receipt or certificate of exemption issued to him before the first day of February of the year in which he offers to vote. except as otherwisepermitted in this title, unless the sine hRS beer,lost or mislaid, or left at home, in whioh event he shallmake an affidavit of that fact,which shall be left with the judges and sent by them with the returns Of the eleotj.onr provided, that, if sincehe obtained his receiptHonorable H. Pat Edwards, page 3 O-5881

or certificatehe removes from the precinot or county of his residence,he may vote on oomplyingwith other provisions of this title." Other eleation statutes,material to the questions under disoussion, are: Article 2966, aa amended 1941, provides: 3s .*.any voter ...subjeotto pay a poll tax under the laws of this State, shall
... before offering to vote at any election in this State
... (hold)
... a reoeipt showing that said poll tax was paid before the first day of Februarynext preaeding such elections
... If said voter is exempt from paying s poll tax and resides in a aity of 10,000 inhabitantsor more, he or shemust prooure a certifioate showinghis or her exemptions.
... If such voter shall have lost or misplaced said tax receipt,ha or she shall be entitled to vote upon making and leaving with the judge of the elsotion an affidavit that suoh tax was paid by him or her, or by his wife or by her husband before said first day of February **next** preceding suah election at which he or she offers to vote, and that said receipt has been lost or misplaced. ..*aThe provisions of this Artiols as to oasting ballots shall apply to all elections including general, special,and primary elsations;provided that a city poll tax shall not be required to vote **in** any election i?~ this State except in oity eleations.' Article 2956, in part, is as follows: "Subdivision 1. Any qualified sleotor of this State who is absent from the county of his residsnoe,or beaauss of sickness or physiaal disability cannot appear‘ at the poll place in the eleotionpreoinat of his residence, on the day of holding any general, special. **or** primary election,may, nevertheless, OWQ~ his vote to be cast at suoh ale&ion in the precinct of his residenoa by compliancewith one or other of the methods hereinafter provided for absenteevoting. "Subdivision 2. Such elector shallmake applioation for an official ballot to the oounty olerk in Writing signed by the elector. or by a witness at the direction of said elector **in** case of latter's inability to make suohwritten application because of physical disability. Suoh application shallhe accompaniedby the poll tax receipt or exemption oertifiaateof the elector, or, in 1is.z thereof,his affidavit in writing that same has beon lo& ormislaid. ls.HonorableH. Pat Edwards, page 4 O-5881

"Subdivision8. The oounty clerk shall post at a conspicuousplaoe in his offioe, for public inspection,a complete list of those to whom ballotshave been delivered or sent out under this Article, stating thereon the elector's name, age, ocoupation,precinct of residence and poll tax number or exemption certificatenumber, and the date on whioh ballotwas delivered **or** mailed'whiah list shallbe kept up from day to day0 The applications, poll tax reoeipts, exemption certifiaates,or affidavits of loss thereof, shall also be open to publio inspection at regular offioe hours, but under such reasonable rules and regulationsas the county olerkmay adopt to safeguard the 8~8 and to reasonably economize his opm time while they are in his keeping,

II

. . . . a Article 2959, stipulatesthat "the personwhen he pays it (the poll tax) shall be entitled to his poll tax receipt." Article 2968% "ExemptVon oertifioatesof persons residing in a city 10,000 or more,
"In the event of loss of oertifioateof exemption the voter may secure a reissueunder his old number, by making affidavit of such loss before the County Tax Collector." Article 2968a. -Exemption aertificatesto personsnot subject to the disqualifiaationssat out in Artiole 2954, "...who (do)not reside in a city of ten thousand inhabitants or more, and who is exempt from the payment of a poll tax by reason of the faot that he or she has not yet reached the age of twenty-oneyears on the first day of January preoeding the levy, or who is exempt from the payment of a poll tax because he or she was not a resident of the State on the first day of January preceding the levy, butwho shallhave since become eligible to vote by reason of length of residsnos or age, shall, on or before the thirty-first day of January of the yser in which ho or she offers to vote, obtain from the wasses8orand Collectorof Taxes for the county of his or her residenoe a certificateof exemption from the payment of a poll tax, and no such person who has failed or refused to obtain such certificateof exemption from the payment of a poll tax shall be allowed to vote, cQDHonorable H. Pat Edwards, pangs5

"In the event the exemptedvoter holding oertificate under this Article shall remove from the county in which he residedwhen samewas issued, to another oour&,y in this State, he shall be required to present his oertifioats of exemption to the Assessor and Collectorof taxes of the county of his new residenoe~forreissue of ragistration and endorsementat least twenty days before any election at which he expects to vote.
"In the event of the loss of oertifioatmof exemption, thevoter may seoure a reissueunder his old number by making affidavit of such loss before the County TaxAssessorand Collector." Penal Code,Article 216, reads: "Any judge of an election or primarywho wilfully permits a personto vote, whose nems,doas not appear on the list of qualifiedvoters of the preoinct andwho fails to present his poll tax raoeipt or oertificatsof sxanption or make affidavit of its loss of misplacement or inadvertentlyleft at home, except in oseeswhere no oertifioateof exemption or tax receipt is required, shall be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars." Penal Cods,Artiole 217, provides thatr "Any judge of any electionwho shall refuse to receive thevote of any qualified electorwho, when hisvote is objected to shows by his own oath that he is entitled to vote, orwho shall refuse to deliver an official bal: lot to one entitled to vote under the law, or who shall wilfully refuse to receivea ballot after one entitled to vote has legally folded and retuned sama, shall be fined not to exceed five hundred dollars." Penal Code,Article 232, is as followsr "If any person knowing himself not to he a qualified voter, shall at any electionvote for or egainst any officer to be then chosen, or for or against any proposition to be determinedby said election, ha shall be confined in the penitentiarynot less than two nor more than five years."

we *nswer your questions respectivelyas follows: First question: The statutes,Articles 2968 and 2968~~~authorize the tax assessor and oollectorto re-issue a certificateof exemption when the originalhas been lost, butwe have been unable to findhonorableH. Pat Edwards, page 6 O-5881

any statuteauthorizing that offiaer to issue a duplicatepoll tax reoaipt.
We therefore answer this question in the negative. Second question? We are not prepared to say that a tax assessor and collector iswithout authority to issue a certificate,such as is desoribed in this question,which may be used for some purposs, but, it is our opinion that ths provisions of the pertinrmt statutes quoted abovemake it obvious that suah a certificatemay not be used forvoting purposes. In other rords, such certificatesera not raao@zed by our election laws, Third question: Invim of our answers to your first,and seaond questions, it is not necessary to answer this question, Fourth qusatior~tWe have in answer to your first question called your attention to the statutes authorizing the tax assessor and oollector to m-issue a certificateof exmption. However, there is no statute authoricing such officer to issue such a certifioateas is described in this question, and if such a certificatewme issued, it is not one reaognized by our election laws. Pvetherefore answer this question in the negative0 Trusting that the foregoing filly answers your inquiries,we are Very truly yours ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

DAtdb:wa

APPROVED APRIL 18, 1944 s/Gee. P. Blaokburn ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS (acting) By s/DavidWuntoh David %x&oh Assistant

Approved Opinion Committee By EWE Chairman