. - 

Hon. Oscar B. McInnis 

Criminal District Attorney 

Hidalgo County 

Edinburg, Texas 

Dear Mr. Mclnnis: 

Opinion No. M-1118 

Re: Filing deadline for candidate 

for office of trustee of 

Independent School District. 

In your recent letter, supplemented by phone, you have 

requested an opinion of this department as to the filing deadline 

for candidates for the office of trustee of an Independent School 

District. 

Chapter 23 of the Texas Education Code governs independent 

school districts. Section 23.03, Subsection (a) governs the filing 

deadline for places on the ballot. That subsection reads as follows: 

"(a) Applications of candidates for a 

place on the ballot shall be filed not less 

than 30 days prior to the day of the election, 

and no candidate shall have his name printed 

on said ballot unless there has been compliance 

with the provisions of this section." 

Under the quoted language, the deadline is midnight of 

the 31st day preceding the election, not counting the day of the 

election. The same holding was reached in Attorney General's 

Opinion No. WW-1371 (1962) construing language in Article 2745c, 

Vernon's Civil Statutes. That statute, now repealed, included 

in its relevant part language identical to that in Section 23.03, 

Subsection (a) of the Texas Education Code. 

Opinion No. WW-1371 also includes the following statement: 

"Statutory provisions fixing the time for 

the filing of applications are mandatory. The 

general rule is that an instrument is not 'filed' 

until it is delivered to the proper officer. See 

Attorney General's Opinion WW-75, citing Burroughs 

v. Lyles, 142 Tex. 704, 181 S.W.Zd 570 (1944) and 

McWaters v. Tucker, 249 S.W.Zd 80 (Civ.App. 19521." 

-5447- 
Ron. Oscar B. McInnis, page 2 (M-1118) 

You have pointed out that Article 4.10, Section 2 of the Election 

Code of the State of Texas reads, in part, as follows: 

"Sec. 2. Such application must be filed 

not later than 6 p.m. of the 31st day before 

any such special election, and shall not be 

considered filed unless it has actually been 

received by the officer with whom it is to be 

filed. . . ." 

You inquire whether this 6 p.m. deadline applies to election of 

trustees for an independent school district. 

This Article 4.10 does not apply to the election of 

trustees of an independent school district. The election of school 

board trustees is governed by relevant provisions of the Texas 

Education Code, enacted by the Legislature for the express purpose 

of governing schools of the State. 

SUMMARY 

The filing deadline for candidates for the 

office of trustee of an Independent School District is midnight of the 31st day preceding the 

election, not counting the dv of the election. 

truly yours, 

ey General of Texas 

Prepared by James S. Swearingen " 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman 

Roland Allen 

Bill Campbell 

James McCoy 

John Banks 

-5448- 
- - _ . 

Hon. Oscar B. McInnis, page 3 (M-1118) 

SAMUEL D. MCDANIEL 

Staff Legal Assistant 

ALFRED WALKER 

Executive Assistant 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant 

-5449-