San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-10-18
CANT STRADDLE,
But Must Have Your Name Printed
Under the Proper Heading.

AUSTIN, Tex. Oct. 1.-the following
registration ruling was issued today from
the office of the attorney general:
Hon. w. D. Harris, County Judge,
Fort Worth, Tex:
DEAR SIR-Your letter of October End is
received. You ask whether under the
registration law recently enacted, if it is
legal to place the name of any one candi-
date on the ticket more than once. This
department has carefully considered ev-
cry article and section of the registration
law and the revised statutes ana has con-
cluded that it is not legal to place the
name of any one candidate for office on
the ballot more than once.
Article 1864, revised statutes, in regard
to ballots, reads: "All ballots shall be
written or printed on plain white paper
without any picture, SigU, vignette, device
or stamp mark, except the writing or
printing in black ink or black pencil, of
the names of the candidates and the sew
eral offices to be filled, and except the
name of the political party whose candi-
dates are on the tickets provided, such
ballots may be written or printed on plain
white foolscap, legal cap or letter paper"
Thus it is apparent that the legislature
has provided that only the names of the
candidates and the parties to which they
may belong can be placed upon the ballot.
The legislature, considering the context
of this article, intended TO restrict the
printing on the tickets to the names CT
the candidates and their parties.
Section "a, page II, Of the act of the
called session of the Twenty second legis-
lature, approved April ~, 1892, reads:
"All ballots used by the voters at said
election shall be furnished by the officers
conducting said election upon which shall
be printed the names of all candidates for
state, county OIL. precinct officers Offices
upon one ticket and arranged according
TO the representative parties to which the
candidates may belong, and whenever a
voter has been furnished with ballot by
any officer conducting the election the
presiding officer shall stamp with a rub
Der stamp provided, for this purpose the
words official ballot, and no ballot cast
without said words stamped upon it by
the said presiding officer shall be counted
at said election
By this article the names of all the can
didates should be placed on one ticket and
their names must be arranged according
to the party to which they belong.
See article 1897, which reads: No bal
lot which is not numbered as provided in
article 1894 shall be counted, nor shall
either of two or more ballots be counted
and where the names of two or more per
sons are upon ballot for the same office
when but one person is to be elected tt
that Office, such ballot shall not be count.
ed for either of such persons"
Constituting these statutes together, an
fully convinced that the legislature in
tended to permit each candidate
to have his name placed upoT
the official ballot but once, wher,
the names of all candidates of all par
ties must be arranged according to thei
political faith. This method permits
every voter to cast his ballot for the can
didate OF his choice, and no matter u
what party that candidate may belong o
where his name may be found the vote
can vote for him as conveniently wher
he finds such candidates name on tn
ticket as if he found it there a number 0
times.
In order to express his choice it is onl
necessary for the voter to mark out tn
names of those candidates not his choic
and he thereby leaves the candidate of hi
choice on the ticket to be counted n
matter where thereon the name is fOuLC
See also McCreary on elections, section
800, 405. Paine on elections, sections So
554. Very respectfully.
r L. HENRY.
Assistant Attorney General.