OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

cHonorable K. D. Hall 

County Attorney 

Refugio, Texas 

April 24, 1939 

Dear Sir: 

oomaon sohool 

n independent 

s having lese 

stloa, and what 

d Issue oommlstrustees elected. 

puce t ione : 

response to the rollowing 

I 

canvas8 the returns and deolare’ 

4. Iu independent school diatriota of less than 

rive hundred scholaatios? 

Artiole 2745, Rev$&ad Civil Statutes, provides idr an 

eleotion to ba held on the first Saturday in April of eaoh 

year ror the selection of trustees ror common school dietriots. 

Artiole 2740, Revised Civil Statutes, provides that 

“said trustees may appoint three persons for each voting box 
Hon. X. D. Hall, April 24, 1939, Page 2 

a? ': 

of the district, who shall be qualified voters of the district and who shall hold such election and make returns 

thereof to said trustees within five days after such election." After making further provisions relative to the 

conduct of the election, the Article then provides that 

"said board of trustees shall meet and oanvass the returns 

of said election within five days after returns have been 

made, and declare the result of said election and issue to 

the persons so elected their commissions as suoh trustees 

and shall notify the county judge or the oounty superintendent, 

If the oounty has a superintendent." 

Artiale 2746ag.';Revlsed Civil %atutes as amended In 

1935, reads as r0110wg8 

"All or the ballots ror the election or a 

school trustee in common school diatrlots and 

in Independent sohool dintriots having fewer than 

five l@ndred (500) soholastioa as shown by the 

last preoedlng sohoastlo oensus roll approved by 

the State Department of Eduoation and exoluslve ortpansiers shall be printed with black Ink on clear white paper, of 8Uifioient thiohness to prevent the marks themon being seen through the paper, and be of uniiorm 

style and dimension; at the top or the ballot there 

shall be printed 10rrlolal Ballot, Independent 

Sohool Dlstrlot',. the number or mm-the sohool 

district in which the eleotion la to.be held,to be 

filled In by the Judge of the oounty when he orders 

the ballots printed. Any person desiring to have 

his name plaoed on said oiflolal ballot, as a oandldate ror the orrioe or trustee 0r a mumon sohoo3 

distriot or of an independent school diatriot es 

herein provided shall, at least ten days 'berors said 

almotion, rile a written request with the oounty 

judge of the County In which said distrlot Is located, 

requesting that his name be placed on the offiolel 

ballot, and no candidate shall have his name printed 

on said ballot unless he has complied with the provisions or this Act; proyided that five or more 

residsnt qualified votera-in the dlstriot may repquest that certain names be printed. The oountg 

dudge, upon reoeipt of suoh written request, and at 

least five days before the election, shall have the 

ballots printed as provided in this Aot, plaodng on 
Hon. K. D. Hall, April 24, 1939, PaEe 3 

;r 

the ballot the name of each candidate who has 

complied with the terms of this Act, and deliver a sufficient number of printed ballots 

and amount of supplies necessary for such 

election to the presiding officer of the election at least one day before said election is 

to be held, said election supplies, ballots, 

boxes, end tally sheets to be delivered by the 

county judge by mail or in any other manner by 

him deemed best, to the presiding officer or said 

eleotion. in sealed envelopes which shell not be 

opened by'the election orrloer until the day.oi 

the election. The expenses of printing the ballots and delivering same to the presiding orrioer, 

together with other expenses inoldental to said 

election shall be paid out of the avellable maintenance funds belonging to the sohool dlstriot in 

which said eleotlon la held, or to be held. The 

orricers 0r mid election shall be required to 

use the ballots so furnished by the county judge 

as provided herein. The eleotlon otfioers shall' 

make returns of said eleotlon to the county 

judge and certiry the result in the same manner as 

isnow required by law,, and said ballot boxes rihloh 

shall have been furnished by local school Oificiels shall be sent to the oouuty judge and said 

eleotlon returns shall be oanvassed by the Commdssioners* Court Andy together with ballot boxes 

shall be sarely preserved for a period of three 

months next after the date of the election.* 

Article 2776 Rev1ae.d Civil Statutes re 

8"1 

ates generally elections for Independent school alstriots. t provides ror 

returns to be oanvaseed by the board or trusteesor the dlstriot in whioh the election is held. No express amendment has 

r-V 

been made to that statute sinoe 1915. 

- Article 2746a was enaoted substantiallJi in itspresent r0m in 1925. Chapter 128 page 329 General Laws of Texas, 

Thirty-ninth Legislature. Thene'was an amendment thereto by 

the Forty-fourth Legislature i&*1935 but the amendment did not 

touoh upon the question with which we are here conoerned. & 

noted above, Article 2746a provides for election returns to be 

canvassed by the Commissioners' Court. In respect to the body 

which should canvass the returns, declare the results and issue oertifioates of eleotion, Article 2746a superseded Artlole 

2776 es to independent sohool districts having a scholastic 

population of less than rive hundred, as shown by the last 

preceding scholastic census's011 approved by the State Depart7. 
Hon. K. 1). Hall, April 24, 1939, Page 4 

nent of Education, It was expressly held in the case of Thomas 

v. Mccown, 94 S. N. (2d) 839,Yhat an election in an independent 

school district having less than five hundred scholastics was not 

completed until the returns had been canvassed by the Commissioners* 

Court, as provided in Article 2746a. 

Our answer to your second and fourth questions therefore 

is that the Commissioners *Court of the county in which an election 

is held in en independent school district of less than five hundred scholastics is the body which should canvass the returns, 

declare the result, and issue commissions to trustees elected. 

- There has not been a great deal of change in the reading 

of Article 2746 since Its original enactment. It appeared as 

Article 2819 and 2820 in the oomplete Texas statutes of 1920. 

article relates to elections in common school distriota. White 

That 

Artiole 2746a related to all oommon school distriots, it will be 

noted that the same did not cover all of tha field occupied by Articl

2746. The last mentioned Article provided for the appointment of 

persons to hold the elections, for notioe of elections, and far’ the 

rlxlng of the place thereof. Therefore, it is apparent that 2746a 

<did not repeal Article 2746 in whole. It Is probable, however, that 

~Artiole 2746a did supersede Article 2746 as pertains to the body 

which should canvass returns and declare the results of such 

elections until the aii&niment and re-enactment of Article 2746 in 

1937. In that year Article 2746 was am6naed in oertain respects, 

and was substantially re-enaoted. Such statute as re-enaoted 

provides that the board of trustees shall canvass the returns of .

auoh elections and declare the results thereof and Issue coinmissions 

to $he trustees eleotede 

A new enactment abrog,ates any former aot on the same 

subject with which it clearly ,and manifestly conflicts to the 

extent of the Inconsistency or repugnancy between the two. Whittenberg v. Craven, 258 S. W. 152; ~St. Louis B. & Y.L. Co. v. 

Maicofich, 221 5. W. 522; 30 Tex. Sur- p. 137. Article 2746 

having been re-enacted In 1937, subsequent to the passage of 

Article 2746a; had the effect .of superseding Article 2746a, so far 

as common school districts are concerned in respect to the body 

which shall canvass the returns, declare the results and issue 

oomml.9sions. 

Our answer to your first and third questions, therefore, 

is that the board of trusteea?'of the common school district in 

which the election is held is the proper body to canvass the 

returns, declare the results and issue commissions to the persons 
Hon. K. D. Hall, kpril 24, 1939, Page 5, 

elected. 

Yours very truly 

GFU:MR 

A,O?NEY~ OF= 

BY (Sipned) 

Glenn R. hwis 

Assisaant