Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN c- April 24, 1939 Honorable K. D. Hall County Attorney Refugio, Texas Dear Sir: oomaon sohool n independent s having lese stloa, and what d Issue oommls- trustees elected. response to the rollowing pucetione: I canvas8 the returns and deolare’ 4. Iu independentschool diatriota of less than rive hundred scholaatios? Artiole 2745, Rev$&ad Civil Statutes, provides idr an eleotion to ba held on the first Saturday in April of eaoh year ror the selection of trustees ror common school dietriots. Artiole 2740, Revised Civil Statutes, provides that “said trusteesmay appoint three persons for each voting box Hon. X. D. Hall, April 24, 1939, Page 2 a?': of the district,who shall be qualifiedvoters of the dis- trict and who shall hold such election and make returns thereof to said trusteeswithin five days after such elec- tion." After making further provisions relative to the conduct of the election,the Article then provides that "said board of trustees shall meet and oanvass the returns of said election within five days after returns have been made, and declare the result of said election and issue to the persons so elected their commissionsas suoh trustees and shall notify the county judge or the oounty superintendent, If the oounty has a superintendent." Artiale 2746ag.';Revlsed Civil %atutes as amended In 1935, reads as r0110wg8 "All or the ballots ror the election or a school trustee in common school diatrlots and in Independentsohool dintriotshaving fewer than five l@ndred (500) soholastioaas shown by the last preoedlng sohoastlo oensus roll approved by the State Departmentof Eduoation and exoluslveortpans- iers shall be printed with black Ink on clear white pa- per, of 8Uifioientthiohness to prevent the marks them- on being seen through the paper, and be of uniiorm style and dimension; at the top or the ballot there shall be printed 10rrlolalBallot, Independent Sohool Dlstrlot',.the number or mm-the sohool district in which the eleotion la to.be held,to be filled In by the Judge of the oounty when he orders the ballots printed. Any person desiring to have his name plaoed on said oiflolal ballot, as a oandl- date ror the orrioe or trustee 0r a mumon sohoo3 distriot or of an independentschool diatriot es herein provided shall, at least ten days 'berorssaid almotion,rile a written request with the oounty judge of the County In which said distrlot Is located, requestingthat his name be placed on the offiolel ballot, and no candidateshall have his name printed on said ballot unless he has complied with the pro- visions or this Act; proyided that five or more residsnt qualified votera-in the dlstriot may rep- quest that certain names be printed. The oountg dudge,upon reoeipt of suoh written request, and at least five days before the election, shall have the ballots printed as provided in this Aot, plaodng on Hon. K. D. Hall, April 24, 1939, PaEe 3 ;r the ballot the name of each candidatewho has compliedwith the terms of this Act, and de- liver a sufficientnumber of printed ballots and amount of supplies necessary for such election to the presiding officer of the elec- tion at least one day before said election is to be held, said election supplies, ballots, boxes, end tally sheets to be delivered by the county judge by mail or in any other manner by him deemed best, to the presiding officer or said eleotion.in sealed envelopeswhich shell not be opened by'the election orrloer until the day.oi the election. The expenses of printing the bal- lots and deliveringsame to the presiding orrioer, togetherwith other expenses inoldentalto said election shall be paid out of the avellablemain- tenance funds belonging to the sohool dlstriot in which said eleotlon la held, or to be held. The orricers 0r mid election shall be required to use the ballots so furnished by the county judge as provided herein. The eleotlon otfioers shall' make returns of said eleotlon to the county judge and certiry the result in the same manner as isnow requiredby law,,and said ballot boxes rihloh shall have been furnished by local school Oifi- ciels shall be sent to the oouuty judge and said eleotlon returns shall be oanvassed by the Com- mdssioners*Court Andytogether with ballot boxes shall be sarely preserved for a period of three months next after the date of the election.* Article 2776 Rev1ae.dCivil Statutes re ates general- ly elections for Independentschool alstriots. 8"1t provides ror returns to be oanvaseedby the board or trusteesor the dls- triot in whioh the election is held. No express amendment has been made to that statute sinoe 1915. r-V - Article 2746a was enaoted substantiallJiin itspre- sent r0m in 1925. Chapter 128 page 329 General Laws of Texas, Thirty-ninthLegislature. Thene'was an amendment thereto by the Forty-fourthLegislature i&*1935 but the amendment did not touoh upon the questionwith which we are here conoerned. & noted above, Article 2746a provides for election returns to be canvassed by the Commissioners'Court. In respect to the body which should canvass the returns, declare the results and is- sue oertifioatesof eleotion,Article 2746a supersededArtlole 2776 es to independentsohool districts having a scholastic population of less than rive hundred, as shown by the last preceding scholasticcensus's011approved by the State Depart- 7. Hon. K. 1).Hall, April 24, 1939, Page 4 nent of Education, It was expressly held in the case of Thomas v. Mccown, 94 S. N. (2d) 839,Yhat an election in an independent school district having less than five hundred scholasticswas not completeduntil the returns had been canvassedby the Commissioners* Court, as provided in Article 2746a. Our answer to your second and fourth questionstherefore is that the Commissioners* Court of the county in which an election is held in en independentschool district of less than five hun- dred scholasticsis the body which should canvass the returns, declare the result, and issue commissionsto trustees elected. - There has not been a great deal of change in the reading of Article 2746 since Its original enactment. It appeared as Article 2819 and 2820 in the oomplete Texas statutes of 1920. That article relates to elections in common school distriota. White Artiole 2746a related to all oommon school distriots,it will be noted that the same did not cover all of tha field occupied by Articl 2746. The last mentioned Article provided for the appointmentof persons to hold the elections,for notioe of elections,and far’the rlxlng of the place thereof. Therefore, it is apparent that 2746a