Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-08-20
COUNTY OFFICERS.

Of late Attorney General Wilson's of
flee has been flooded with letters fomcoun-
ty officers and others interested, making
inquiry as to the term Of county offices
under the new Revised Statutes. The
following opinion on the subject has been
prepared by Gen. Wilson, and sent out
to the correspondence; it will be found of
general interest:
MADISON Aug 2.
DEAR SIR;-Your favor Of the 2sth ult, is at
hand, asking me what my construction of Sec
69S Of the Revised Statutes is, and whether in
your county, county officers can be elected this
fall at the general election, no election having
been held last fall for such officers Said section
provides that at the general election in the year
one thousand eight hundred and seventy Eight,
and biennially thereafter, there shall be elected
in each county, for a regular term, the follow
ing county officers, viz: county clerk treas
urer, sheriff. coroner, clerk of circuit court dis
trict attorney, register Of Deeds surveyor and i'm
the year one thousand eight hundred and seven
ty-nine and banially thereafter al county SUPER
lntendent OF schools in each Superintendent dis
trict thereof, except in those cases where any
such officers shall have been heretofore elected
for term which will not expire by the next sue
ceed1ng first Monday in January, in which case
such office shall be filled at the next general
election. The regular term of office of all coun-
" officers above named shall commence on the
first Monday OF January next succeeding their
election, and continue two years, but each such
officer, including those now in Office shall hold
his office until his successor is qualified"
The Constitution of the State, section f. article
3, provides that sheriffs, cOroners, registers of
deeds and district attorneys shall be chosen by
the electors OF the respective counties once in
every two years, and as often as vacancies shall
happen; and section II, article 7, of our COnsti-
tuition provides that there shall be clerk of the
circuit court chosen in each county organized
for judicial purposes, by the qualified electors
thereof who snail hold his office for two wears
when elected subject to removal as shall be pro-
Vided by law.
The Constitution fixes the term of Office of five
of the nine county officers named in said section
| at two years, ana the Legislature can neither
prolOng nor abr1dge such term and in my Opin-
ion the words "any such officers as used i'm
that sectlon refer to any of the officer previously
named therein, and not to Superintendent of
Schools alone, and that any county in this State
may elect at the next general election any and all
such ot1cers whose regular term of Office expires
it counties desire to have uniformity in the cleo
| ton of officers throughout the State the few
counties which held no election for officers last
Fall could pass over an election this year. and let
the present lncumbents hold over and elect for
the full term in the Fall of 1880.
In making practical application of the con-
stitutional provisions hereinbefore mentioned, a
great many irregularities as to county officers
arose, but more especially as to the time when
| their official term commenced.
The creation OF new counties fixing the first
election OF Of1lcer at another time than that of
the general election, and the right to commence
their official term as soon as elected and the re-
signation of officers and filing the vacancy by
an election, are among the fruitful sources of
such irregularities. Atty. Genl ca rel. Schantz