I 

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

GROVER SELLERS . . 

Arroa~~ GENERAL . 

.Eonorable James k~. Crane 

DlStriCt Attorney 

confoe, Texas 

pear Sir: 

ycw.r recent 

knt reads in part as 

Opinion ITo. O-6546 

Re: Does the defeat of 

request for an 

f 011w1s: 

time two simlta 

JO SUbdiVi- ’ 

. , a county-da6 

id county-vii&e elecw was defeated, would 

substquently, hold in that same subdivision that 

votes it out)?? 

The splendid brief subndttcd with your rquest has 

been very helpful to the writer and in the absence of Texas 

: 

., \ 

- . 

c 

i Boaorable James & Crane, Page 3 

643 

resulted In the defeat of prohibition. It la oontended this defeat abrogated the law in rreolnot 

0. In other words, lZ local option is legally in 

foroe in a proolnot, mode so by eleotlon in that 

proolnot, that a subooquent eleotlon, held for the ’ l 

entire oounty, resulting acalnst prohibition, has 

the efieot to repeal or abrogate looal option in 

that sold preolnot. To this proposition we oannot 

agree, By referenoe to the various provlslons of . 

the local option statutes we are informed that the. 

people of the entire county oannot express their 

views upon this subjoot so ns to defeat or ropeal 

local optlon In any subdivision OS the county, 

INor can the people OS a preolnot by vote dofoat 

prohlbltlon in any subdlvlslon of that precinct 

town or olty. The county may Soroe prohibition 

by .a vote over preolnots whloh are .not in Savor 

of it, and 50 may a preofnot over oltles, towns, 

or subdivisions thereof that may not be in Savor 

of it, but oannot force, by vote, repeal OS it in 

any town, city, or subdivision thereof. The people * 

. ~ OS the county, outside OS the territory to be af’- 

Seoted, have no right to vote at all as to the law 

in that oubdivlslon. Main, the people of the 

county have never voted on the proposltlon that 

l.,w,z’, gptlon should or should not prevail in Pre- . 

. They voted on the proposition whether 

prohibition should prevail in the whole. county. 

Great many voters might oppose prohibition Sor 

the county, and yet heartily eupport it for preolnots lnwhloh they have no polioe coroe, as well 

as Sor other reasons euttlolently oogent to their 

minds. * 

? The rule in the Aaron’ oase was reannounoed in faokeon V. State, 

:~ 118,s. %. (26) 313. :i’e think the reaeonlng in these cases is 

.i of equal Soroe ‘when applied to the stock law situation. The 

: najorlty of the voters in a oounty-wide eleotlon, votln& “for 

j the stook law* In the entire oounty, necessarily deternine by 

their vote that the law shall be effeotlve in every subdlvlalon OS the county. On the other hand, where a majority in 

i a county-wide eleotlon, votes against the atook law Sor the 

i entire county, it cannot be said that the electors are llkewise voting against tb stook law for eaoh and every mbdlvii sion OS the oounty., Certainly a voter might disravor the 

adoption OS the stook law in an entire oounty oomposed oS 
. 

,.ii 644 ; 

Honorable James m. arane , page 4 

both iarming and ranching areas, while at the same time 

favoring the adoption and enforoement of the law ln a eubdlvlalon eultoble for farming only. 

” 

It seems to us that our views on this matter are 

strengthened by the Saot that Artlole 6964 provides in part 

that, wthe defeat OS the proposition for a county shell not 

prevent another oleotlon from being held immediately thereafter for any subdivision OS suoh county, nor shall a defeat 

OS the proposition Sor any subdivision prevent an eleotlon 

from being held lmmedlately thereafter Sor the entire. 0ounty.w 

IS it had been intended by the Legislature that the defeat, 

OS tho stook law in a oounty eleotlon would result in the . 

creation of n oounty-wide status or oounty-wide repeal oS 

the stock ‘law, then it would seem senseless to authorize the 

immediate alteration of suoh a status by any subdivision. 

It la our ‘oonoluslon that ths defeat of ths atook 

law in your oountywould not alter the etatus OS any of its, 

subdivisions. 

Very truly yours = 

‘ATTORN2X GXN?BAL OF TEXAS 

EA:mp 

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