Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1924-01-31
Women Voters


order to qualify as electors. 1t
is the opinion of no less an au-
thority than Attorney General
George M Napier that women
who register this year to vote
are not required to pay back poll
tax for the years 1922 and
1923, but may register and vote
and then pay their 1924 poll
tax in December.
This opinion, however, is not
shared by other high state Off
Gals at Atlanta, and Comptrol-
Ter General w. A. Wright is one
of those who disagrees with the
attorney general as to the status
of women voters. According
to the comptroller general,
whenever a woman offers to
register she is required to pay
for all the years preceding the
year of election back to 1922,
the date of the passage of the
act making women eligible 40
voters. Once a woman regis
ters and votes, in the opinion Of
this officer, she becomes a regis
tered voter and must pay poll
taxes when they apply again for
all the years that they have not
paid preceding the election.
The status of women voters,
perhaps, has been somewhat
clouded by an amendment to the
enabling act under female suf-
frage was made an accomplish
ed fact, adopted during the rel
cent extra session of the Geor-
gia legislature.
y Under this amendment, it
would appear the status Of wo-
menPas voters in Georgia, is ma
tetially changed. The substance
of this act is to be found in
Paragraph | of the General Tax
Act Of l924-25, subsection (a)
on Page 7 of Instructions to Tax
Collectors of Georgia, issued by
the Comptroller General of
Georgia.
Paragraph | provides that the
poll tax shall not be demand
ed of female inhabitants of the
state who do not register for
voting and subsection (a) pro-
vides that female inhabitants
who have heretofore registered
may avail themselves of the
benefit of this act and be re-
lieved of the poll tax by having
their names stricken from the
registration book.
Since women do not have to
pay poll tax unless they register
for voting, then no back poll
taxes should be required of
them.
In a letter to T. S. Rigdon,
tax collector of Tiff county, At
torney General Napier explains
this paragraph to mean that,
under certain circumstances, wo.
men voters are not required to
pay poll taxes, except for the
year 1924 in order to become
qualified voters. ILLUSTRATING
his conception of the law the
attorney general recently wrote
Collector Rigdon in part as fol-
lows:
Tos illustrate; Suppose wo
man Of SIS should apply to you
to register for voting; under the
Acts of 1922 and 1928, as | have
heretofore construed that law,
you would be authorized to re-
quire her to pay the tax for
1922 and 1928. However, I'M
der the amended law, since fe-
male inhabitants are relieved of
this tax who did not register for
voting, then women are not to be
A~1fA%A NA ~ pay ROAi NttN NtAAAA
and unless they do register for
voting.
A man who has not heretofore
voted, and who would be eligible
to vote this year, would be en-
titled to register and pay his poll
tax this coming December. Ny
construction of the law is that
women who have not heretofore
registered for voting are entitled =
to register without paying any
back poll tax, and may pay this
years poll tax in December
And should a woman have her
name stricken from list Of regis
tered voters, as provided in SUBJ
section (a) referred to, she could,
as matter Of legal right, come
later to. the tax collector and
have her name registered for the
purpose Of voting.
Analysing the foregoing the
l. IL