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Honorable M.F. Kleke April 12, 1939
County Attorney
Lee County
Giddings, Texas
Dear sir: Opinion 0-614
Re: Whether a voter In a common school
district trustee election must have
resided in the particular school
district for six months preceding
the election.
We are in receipt of your letter of April '.A,1939, wherein
you request our opinioninresponse to the following question:
"Does a voter, desiring to vote at a school
trustee election, where trustees are elected for a
,common School District, have to reside in the particular
i school district for 6 months preceding the election,
to be eligible to vote?"
Article VI, Section 2 of the 'Constitutionof Texas, pro-
vides in part as follows:
"Every person subject to none of the foregoing
dls-qualifications,who shall have attained the age of
twenty-oneyears and who Shall be a citizen &P the United
States and who shall have resided infhls State one year
next preceding an election and the last six months within
the dlstrlct'orcounty In which such person offers to
vote, shall be deemed a qualified elector; , . .'I
Article 2955, Revised Civil Statutes,provides in part as
follows:
"Every person subject to none of the foregoing
dis-qualificationswho shall have attained the age of twenty
one years and who ~shallbe a citizen of the United States,
andwho shall have resided in this State one year next
preceding an election, and the last six months within the
district or county In wh.ichhe or she ofPers to vote,
shall be deemed a qualified elector. . . In any election
held only In a subdivisionof a county for the purpose
of determiningany local question or propositionaffecting
only such subdivisionof the county, then in addition to
the foregoing qualifications,the voter must have resided
In said couaty for six months next preceding such election
. . . . . .
L .
Hon. N.F. Kieke, April 12, 1939, Page 2 o-614
Although not necessary to the-decisionin that case, it
was indicated in Little v. State, 12 S.W. gbb, that the court was of
the opinion that the word "district"as used in the foregoing constitu-
tional provisionmeant a district wh~lchincludes counties, such as a
congressionaldistrict, senatorialdistrict or representativedistrict,
rather than a district which 1s formed within the boundaries of a given
county, such as a school district.
In the case of Warren v. Robinson, 32 S.W. (2) 871, it
was held that in a road district election six months residence on the
part of a voter in such subdivisionwas not required under Article 2955.
While that opinion was based largely upon th.esecond quoted sentence above
from Article 2955, we believe that such case would be controllingin the
situationwhich you present to us whether the sch.001district be regarded
as a subdivisionof a county or not: If the term "district",as used in
Article VI, Section 2 of the Constitution,should be ConstrUed to mean
that a voter Should be required to reside for the last six months within
a school district than we believe that it would likewise have to be
construed to require residence in a road district for such six months,
Irrespectiveof statute. There Is no provision anywhere that in either
instance the voter should have resided for six months in the district
In which he presents himself to vote.
Our answer to your question, therefore, is a negative
,-~. one.
!’ ‘) Yours very truly,
ATTORNEYGERERAL OFTEXAS
By s/ Glenn R. Lewis
AsSiStaIlt
GRL:N:wc
APPROVED .
s/GERALDC.illANN
AT!L’ORNEY GFXERAL OF TEXAS