Sacramento daily record-union., 1888-09-18
PRECINCT REGISTERS.
The Supervisors Order Them-Opinion
the Affor1avnara~ol


The Supervisors Order Them-Opinion of
the Attorney General.
The Board of Supervisors were in session
all Gay yesterday, and discussed at length
the question of having precinct registers
for use at the coming election. The result
was that the County Clerk was ordered to.
go on and prepare the precinct registers in
accordance with the order of the Board
passed several weeks ago. County Clerk
Hamilton had asked the Attorney General
for an opinion on the subject and yester-
day received the following reply which
was placed before the Board of Supervisors
before they took action:
THE ATToRNEY-GEYERAL's OPINION.
OFFICE OF THE A1ToRNEY-GENERAL
OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA,
SACRAMENTO, September 15, 1SsS.
w b. Hamilton, Esq, Clerk Of the Board Of
ing from you that the Board of Supervisors of
sacramento county desire my opinion in refer
ence. to the matters named herein, have to
say that your Board may by order provide for
the preparation and distribution of either town
ship registers or precinct registers for each
township, as they may determine best and if
they determine to have such precinct registers,
IL must be borne IN mind that they should be
for each township, so that the order may work
generally in respect to all the townships. This
is obviously the meaning of Section 1l1S Politi-
cal Code The language is, each to1cRship, not
any township. But II township has not more
than 800 qualified electors of the county resi-
dent therein, 1t is not necessary to precinct IT,
The township, in such a case. may constitute
precinct. Section l115 determines that not
less than specified number OF registers
shall be printed-that is to say whether
there be such precinct registers or not.
OF Section ll16 only subdivisions first third and
n. ADDlV S.pr1manfn AS
suodlylslons, however, embody general law
applicable to all counties of the first class, 1
| tnlnk the words OF the section, 'sueh copies of
the Great Register or ward or township regis
ter include the precinct registers for each
| township mentioned in Section 1l13
come now TO the next section OF the Political
Iode bearing upon your inquiry, Section ll49.
Ihls section is in respect to posting the regis
| ters, and the language used is ''copies of the
| Great Register of the county as last printed -
There does not appear anywhere any very plain
direction that the precinct registers for each
| township shall be posted, except in subdivision
one of Section 1116, which requires the posting
OF one copy in some public place in the Court
mouse, but they are required to be distributed
ana SO many delivered to each Board of Elec-
ton IN the county. OF course, this matter of
posting was entirely with the Legislature to de-
termlne, aud the proper construction of Section
n the case.
y The question then occurs, what is meant by
the language of Section 1149 as to posting not
less tnan four printed copies OF the Great Regis
| Ter OF the county as last printed?' 1t may be
clei ed that precint registers for each township
would not do for posting on account of the con-
cludlng words of the section Except in the
| city and county of San Francisco wherein not
less than four printed copies of the register of
the ward shall be so posted" and that this ex-
press exception nullities the idea that precinct
registers for each township would do for posting
| IN sacramento county. But it must be remem.
bered that precinct registers formerly ward req
| listers, are required by law for San Francisco
| While precinct registers for each township in
stead OF copies of the Great Register or
instead OF township registers, may or may not
| be required, as the Board of Supervisors OF Sac
| ramento county may determine | think. there-
| lore, the words ia Section 1l49 Before opening
| the polls the Board must post, in some Separate
| convenient places easy of access, not less than
four printed copies of the Great Register of the
county, as last printed mean copies of the re-
spee6lve precinct registers, as last printed, if
tue Board determine 10 have precinct registers
| Section 1l49 took effect July g. 1874 but Section
lib, as amended, took effect April l6, 1880 The
latter Is the latest law on the subject and where
II says that "the Board OF any county may, by
order, provide for the preparation and dis
| tnDutlon OF township or precinct registers for
each township, instead of copies of the Great
Hegister, the words preparation and distribu-
ilon lnclude the posting, and Section lI49 is
complied with if not less than four printed COP
| les OF such precinct registers, if ordered as
last printed, a1e posted in proper places
De.ofe opening the polls, that is to
such copies OF that parscular precinct register.
| In this way the different sections of the Code
above cited are harmonlzed; otherwise it must
be concluded that the Legislature has failed t0
carry out its idea of precinct registration Kent
says 1t IS an established rule in the expOsi-
tlon OF statutes that the intention of the Iepis-
latgre is to be deduced from view the whole
ana OF every part of a statute taken and com
pared together. The real intention, when ac-
| curately aScertalned, will always prevail over
the literal sense OF the terms When the ex-
preston IN a statute is special or particular, but
Ihe reason is general. the expression should be
deemed general" Again: THE reason and
intention of the law given viii control the strict
letter OF the law, where the latter would lead to
pdlpaDie inJuslee, contradiction and absurdity''
In coming to the foregoing conclusion, | haye
aimed only to interpret the different sections,
wnlch at frst glance seem somewhat inhar-
monlous, but what effect, If any, some practical
deviation from my conclusions might have en-
the legality OF the election have not examined
INTO, and indeed could not examine into in the
time allowed me. Very truly yours,
q. A. JOHNSON, Acknowledgement