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HomeMy WebLinkAboutC 221 .e ..' _U__'.~" _.... . . .'. . . '. . 'I USOLUTIOI 110. 0-221 IT APPIWNO to tJie' Board of 'C_""TC'oIlId..a1~n.A',it6j. J.lreno. cou.~ that due to i~o....... aD4..~"a.. ill;~:..t4"i.~..."...' ...1. p~clQCt.. 1n J.t't'''l'_r;t C.0Wlt7t, . ..~iaJ~".~';..~, c__f.... ; :".. . ! -, I, ,"' . . _;', , . ' , ._ , ,c,..' ">,' " " I .... '~':;. '. .:' ,.... ; ',' .. , _:,i,' "-" '" .." - . .,' .. "",", '::~, "" ,', '.~ bei _~" not~al., to t.ellt"a~',..ot1. ba-t., ~.rOI'll wltb,....~., . r " ': ,'- , , . . ' . ..'. ~'. ,'.' . .. ", .';'. noW,..,nfor., l' ,11 ORDIRID : , (1) That, ,t.he 'YOt18' p"ocine, ot_.,~ __ 4I.U4'4.1-,,~ pr..aet.~', tollow.r \ ! '. \ '.', l' h All ~at portion tit the PI'...t Q1d.lo...,.ot~Pie01:ItC'whlob 11'. . ; _"!. . ' . r ,'_ _; _:' _,/ .ast. of State :H~&hW.T .~.; 9.. 'I". th. .;".1Ii1"'~' l'o~" ,C),t. tll~ '.~.~.. pr.01nQt, ~o it8j"~OIl 14t.h the Da"--~l~~~.I"'.'1,~_cl:l...~tt'?:~ 11,1~n~ip 27, JfO"~"....~ ;f w.." ,W.II., ,."l~.....!'ot't;be,~......! QUl1o...lload w the ..fthef'ly btn..latyot'~. ~'i.,pt'.~ot,. ~all l>e known and de.1~t.4 a..Qut~.~_tJOT _.l~~.~"U...tbe "'~fliq afta of tlle or1&ina1 p,reol.' .ahal1. beks\OWD all4:...ara"4a.QtJtLIIII ,IICDCTIO. 2. (2) ',('hat the rr..~.rQUI.lut1.' -h d1.:..l...,./ th. ...... ..'....., I" . '" 'bo GOJlblaed wi th the '1"8.' 01_' 01 QUaD.. and .he.....,'.r....~l..h UOWIl .. ! th.pr,olJlOtof QUIlTS. DATlD >>.....1" 1, 1'5). - , BOARD ora -- , . > . SOl Q)ulfrt',~_.~-,.. .. --,"" SIAL .~.r~ ~~~~ "0:" ,~~~, ,~J' }' ""'.'i.'" ft,"._<.,. - .....~-~~,~~-~~,:.:~ '--(:~'~ft'" iff' n '\-:"Sy$~/ f DEPARTMENT OF STATE .e .- Helen J. Eads -2- Octoberll, 1953 (c) As a result of a court action brought by the secretary of state against the Thurston County Board of County Commis.ionere. the Thurston County Sup- erior Court has ruled that lJubdivisionof precincts is mandatory irrespective of financial condition of county. (l) Subdivision of precincts in cities and towns does not necessarily mean that ad.. ditional election boards must be employed when hold.ingcity or town elections. Chapter 70, Laws 1951 (RCW &'9.04.055) provides that precincts can be consoli- dated when holding city or town elections. The only exception iswhetlspecial city or town elections are scheduled to be held in concert with a state primary or a state general election. (3) When subdividing precincts - whenever possible. precincts lying partly within and partly without a city should be eliminated so that the registration of rural vot- ers falls within the jurisdiction of the county auditors. Also the boundaries of school districts should be recognized and every attempt made to harmonize the boundaries of the precincts thereto. Would you at this time report to us what progress 01' consideration your county commissioners have given to precinct subdivision? If said subdivision has been completed, we would appreciate receiving a new list of aU precincts in your county. If you have any question. do not hesitate to write. Sincerely, KNG:ps Enc. (il , I \- ...,-.. EARL COE SECRETARY OF STATE ee .- ~EFF!RSQ.N CO![N!.I ... LIST OF PRECINCTS IN WHICH MORE THAN 300 VOTES CAST NOVEMBER 4. 1952 STATE GENERAL ELECTION Precinct Pt. Townsend #3 Pt. Townsend #5 Pt. Townsend #6 Quilcene Registered Voters 481 397 427 513 .. . ~...- Votes' Cast 407 332 337 414 -"~~~,...___.~ ....,;,..~-;~__;-r_~..-'--"' _._':''-..c,"; o:",,~,,-_> ,;~~~r~j:d;"r.'~: 1~![jj";":";~:~> t~.J,'~ ~:k:,:::,~',ixj.,4-::;'; ;:;:,'t~;"i~:i--'::~J (i) EARL COE SECRETARY OF STATE :..~. ;..,.... . e' 6. ::....'.'..... .,' 3 E , FER SO" _0_0 _U I. ..1 ... ... .. ..., -- - ... -- ... ,.:. LIS'1' OF PREClIfC'lS Il1QICH NORB 'fHd~OTBS. C~ JJ6,\'~tl! 4. ,1,~~ ~fA~ :1~11i!. .... ~~~ ,"aln.' . Pt. '10___4 Ia Pt. Town.end ,a Pt. Town. end Ie Qu110ene ..Sl.'.... Y~'rI > 481 S97 'irT 51.3 Vote. ga.t. t07 au al7 tU ., j, ... ... .~,._-""J .;~-....,""'~-:..:,;::.i..-_....~...,. . .- e e EARL COE SECRETARY OF STATE STATE OF WASHINGTON SMITH TROY Attorney General Olympia April 29 - 1948 Honorable Earl Coe Secretary of State Olympia, Wa shington Attn: Mr. Kenneth Gilbert State Superintendent of Elections Dear Sir: BULLETIN - . Misc. # 1 Precinct boundaries may be altered at any time provided that sufficient time exists prior to a given election for the necessary procedural steps. Your letter of March 25, 1948, asks whether the boundaries of voting precincts containing more than 300 electors may be altered by the proper coun- ty or city officials at any time, our particular attention being directed to section 7. chapter XUI, Laws of 1889-90. as last amended by section I, chapter 178, Laws of 1921 (Rem. Rev. Stat. 5171), and to section 21, chapter XUI. Laws of 1889-90. as amended by section 2. chapter 130. Laws of 1907 (Rem. Rev. Stat. 5278) . As we understand it. your question arises out of the fact that recent con- cent~ationsof people in the Hanford Project area of Benton county have swe!l~~ pre cinct populations into the thousands. Rem. Rev. Stat. 5171. supra. reads in material part as. follows: "The board of county commi-ssioners of each county in the state shall, at their first session after the taking effect of this act divide their respective counties into election precincts, and establish the boundaries of the same. Such board of county commissioners shall designate one voting place for each precinct and each precinct shall contain two hundred and fifty electors or less, based on the number of votes cast at the last general election; but no precinct shall contain more than three hundred electors. If at any election hereafter three hundred or more votes shall be cast at any voting place. it shall be the duty of the inspe ctor in such pre cinct to report the same to the board of county commissioners, who shall, at a regular meeting, be- tween general election day and December 31st of the same year, divide such precinct as nearly !s possible _ s()thatthe_new p~illCts__ formed thereof shall each contain two hundred and fifty electors, or less: * * *" (Emphasis supplied) .., ~, Hon. Earl Coe -2- . April 29, 1948 Rem. Rev. Stat. 5278, supra, provides as follows: "The inspectors of election shall provide in their respective polling place a sufficient number of places, booths or compartments, which shall be furnished with such supplies and conveniences as shall enable the voter conveniently to prepare his ballot for voting, and in which electors may mark their ballots, screened from observation, and a guard-rail so constructed that only persons within such rail can ap- proach within fifty feet of the ballot-eoxes, or the places, booths or com- partments herein provided for. The number of such places, booths or compartments shall not be less than one for every fifty electors or frac- tion thereof registered in the precinct, or voting at the last preceding election where there is no registration. In the precincts containing less than twenty-five voters, the election may be conducted under the provis- ions of this act without the preparation of such" booths or compartments as required in this section. No person other than electors engaged in receiving, preparing or depositing their ballots, or a person present for the purpose of challenging the vote of an elector about to cast his ballot, shall be permitted to be within said rail, and in case of small precincts where places, booths or compartments are not required, no person. engaged in preparing t~eir ballots shall in an~ way be interfered with by any person, unless it be someone authorized by the provisions of this act to assist him or them in preparing his or their ballot. The expense of providing such places or compartments and guard- rails shall be a public charge, and shall be provided for in the same manner as the other election expenses. Subsequent to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November and prior to the first day of December thereafter, the officers c~arged by law with the division or alteration of election precincts shall, as far as necessary, alter or divide the existing elec- tion precincts in such manner that each election precinct shall not con- tain more than three hundred voters. " (Emphasis supplied) It should require no more than a cursory reading of Rem. Rev. Stat. 5171, above, to note the emphasis placed by the legislature on the proposition that "no precinct shall contain more than three hundred electors." Moreover, a study of the section will reveal that the language relating to the period after election day in which the commissioners, on report of the electiori'inspector, must divide an overpopulated precinct is concerned rather with a particular duty to be performed by the commissioners than with their general power in the premises. Again, a perusal of Rem. Rev. Stat. 5278, above, discloses a legisla- tive direction to the officers concerned with precinct boundaries to effect '7 ,~ j . I I I I l.c ~~ .. .- Hon. Earl Coe April 29, 1948 -3- ,( .- . , . .-.". ,- necessary alteration~ wi~hin ~ somewhatshor~~r period afte:r election day than provided for in Rem. Rev. Stat. 5171, to the expressly stated end . "that each election precinct shall not contain more than three hundred voters. " CQnsidered together, as statut~s in pari materia must be, these foregoing sections e~idence the legisb.~ive iiiSfstence on the fact that pre- cincts generally shall not contain more' t~an~hegiven number 'Of' electOrs, while indicating some inconsistency as to the. time within which the commis- sioners are to perform a mandatory duty with respect to bringing about the desired result. To conclude therefrom that the, manda~ory duty can only be performed within one or the other conflicting 'per~ods of time is to lose sight of the elemental distinction between duty and power, and thereby t~ render sterile the clear and compelling mandate of the statutes that no more than three hundred electors shall compose'the in.dividual precincts in the state. Under the date of August 18, 1942, an opinion of this office directed' to the Prosecuting Attorney of Thurston County considered these sections in light of a factual situation converse to the one now presented. We then were confronted with an instance in which all the electors of a precinct but two had removed therefrom, in light of which our advice was sought as to the possi- bility of changing precinct boundaries prior to a general election. In that opinion we said: "These sections have been the subject of several former., opinions (somewhat speciously harmonizing the two by holding the first above-quoted applicable to division on report of the elec- tion inspector, and the second to division on motion of the commis- sioners or on petition of the people) in which the statements appear that no alteration of precinct boundaries can be made subsequent to the dates last mentioned in the respective sections. In none of these opinions was the present question square,ly raised or met in conse- quence of which we may treat such statements as strictly in the na- ture of obiter. "As we read these statutes we take them to mean that in the mat- ter of division there devolves upon the county commissioners a man- datory duty which under penalty of nonfeasance they must perform within the specified time if the facts are brought to their attention either by an election inspector or by petition of the people or by their own perusal of the election returns. Nothing in these sections de- tracts from the commissioners' 'right to act ifatany_time s.ubae.quent_ to the dates mentioned in the statutes it becomes necessary that boun- daries be changed, and this, for the evident reason that the commis- sioners have a general authority in the subject-matter. , . ,.;....:.,;'J.":,;:Rt...; ....., . i:__:;~..,~~~..;:~_~.... ..,,_-:.,.....Ai ., . Hon. Earl Coe -4- April 29, 1948 "In the present instance, it is manifest that the two electors in the precinct in question are not sufficient in number to constitute a precinct election board, which by law must consist of a judge and two inspectors. Since it would be impossible to comply with the law in the matter of, the creation of such board, to say nothing of the fact that it would be folly to incur the expense attendant upon holding an election in this precinct, we unhesitatingly advise that so long as there is time to give notice and take the several required procedural steps, your county commissioners not only have the right but also the duty to incorporate the present precinct into the boundaries of an adjoining precinct. 11 Just as it would have been ridiculous for us to have said before that the commissioners were powerless to remedy the case in which there were too few voters to hold an election, so now it would be ridiculous to say that the commissioners, prior to a general election.and outside the period in which they are compelled to act, are powerless to meet the legislature's requirement that no more than a certain number of electors shall comprise one voting precinct. We the;t'efore advise again that county commissioners are not re- stricted in the matter .of altering precinct bo~ndaries to the two periods set forth in Rem. Rev. stat. 5171 and 5278, their power in this connec-' tion being a general and continuing one, capable of being exercised at any time and subject Of cour se to the qualification that sufficient time prior to a given election exists for the necessary procedural steps. Yours very truly, SM I T H Attorney TROY General JS:mjc / s/ John Spiller Assistant Attorney General November 6, 1953. Hon. Earl Cae, Secretary of State Olympia, lvashington. Attention: Mr. Kenneth N. Gilbert, Supt. Elections: Dear ~T. Gilbert: Yours yery truly, (Helen J. lada) Jeffer801l COURty Auditor. ee .- State of Washington EARL COE Secretary of State Olympia October 21, 1953 Helen J. Eads Jefferson County Auditor Court Hou se Port Townsend, Washington Dear Helen: At this time we are contacting all county auditors to determine the progress of the precinct subdivision as the result of the vote cast at the November 4, 1952, state general election. We are enclosing our report in duplicate which reflects that four of the precincts in your county should be subdivided. For your quick reference, we are listing the highlights of the precinct subdivisiOn procedure as follows: (1) RCW 29.04.040 provides that precincts shall be subdivided whenever 300 or more votes are cast at any state general election. (a) Said division of precincts is the duty of the county commissioners except in cities of the first class. (b) Whereas the statutes provide that said subdivision shall be made during the period immediately following the election and December 31st of the same year - the attorney general has ruled that this time provision is merely directory and that precinct boundaries may be altered at any time provided that sufficient time exists prior to the given election for the necessary procedural steps. Vfe are enclosing a copy of this opinion for your reference . As you know, the necessary procedural steps would include notification to each registered voter concerned of his change of precinct and refiling of the electors' voting history (Perm. Reg. Form # I) in precinct binders. NOTE: It is not neces- sary to report the change of precinct affecting each voter to the office of secretary of state. We are interested only if the address has been changed so that Voter's Pamphlet can be mailed.