Hanson v. Jordan

• Citation: 198 S.W.2d 262
• Decision Date: 18 December 1946
• Docket Number: No. A-1044.,A-1044.
• Parties: HANSON et al. v. JORDAN et al.
• Court: Supreme Court of Texas

Page 262

198 S.W.2d 262

HANSON et al. v. JORDAN et al.

No. A-1044.

Supreme Court of Texas.

December 18, 1946.

Certified Question from Court of Civil Appeals of Ninth Supreme Judicial District.

Election contest by R. L. Hanson and others against George L. Jordan and others. From a judgment in favor of the contestees, the contestants appealed to the Court of Civil Appeals, 196 S.W.2d 546. On certified question from the Court of Civil Appeals.

Question answered in the negative.

E. E. Davis, of Dayton, and Thos. J. Hightower and R. E. Biggs, both of Liberty, for appellants.

Llewellyn & Dougharty and F. K. Dougharty, all of Liberty, for appellees.

BREWSTER, Justice.

This case is here on certified question from the Court of Civil Appeals at Beaumont. We quote from the certificate the relevant facts as well as the question submitted.

"The incorporated City of Cleveland, in Liberty County, Texas, held an election in 1945 for the purpose of determining whether such city should authorize its city council to issue bonds and thereby lend its credit to the amount of $120,000 for street and sewer improvements. The City of Cleveland, since its incorporation in 1935, had not levied any ad valorem tax and had prepared no tax roll from that time to the time of the election. None of its citizens had rendered their property to the city for taxes and no property had been placed on the tax rolls, rendered or unrendered, by the city governing body. The votes at the election were in favor of authorizing the issuance of such bonds and an election contest was duly filed by the appellants. One of the grounds urged in the trial of such election contest was that no person who voted at such election was a qualified elector, all voters thereat being persons who had not rendered their property to the city for taxation as required by Article 2955a, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes of Texas, and Article 6, Section 3a of the constitution of Texas, adopted November 8, 1932, Vernon's Ann.St. In the opinion and judgment of this court the contention of the appellants was upheld.

"There is no authority directly in point to be found and we certify to the Supreme Court the following question:

"In the absence of a showing of fraud, does the failure to comply with the provisions of Article 6, Section 3a, Constitution of the State of Texas, in regard to the rendition of property for taxes by all voters at a bond election, constitute grounds for declaring such election invalid, when the voters at such election were otherwise qualified and when it is shown that the municipal subdivision holding such bond election, a city operating under the general laws of Texas, had not prior to such election required a rendition of any property for taxes and had never levied an ad valorem tax?"

In its relation to the question under consideration, Art. VI, Sec. 3a, of the Constitution, supra, adopted in 1932, provides: "When an election is held by * * * any city, town or village, for the purpose of issuing bonds or otherwise lending credit, * * * only qualified electors who own taxable property in the * * * city, town or village where such election is held, and who have duly rendered the same for taxation, shall be qualified to vote * * *." (Italics ours.)

Prior to 1932, the qualifications of a voter in a city bond election were prescribed by Art. VI, Sec. 3, and it was only...