Texas Attorney General Opinion: H-267 Page: 1 of 5
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THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
OF TEXAS
SAUSTrIN, TnEAs 78711
JOHN L. HILL
AIORNnY OfmnKAL
April 2, 1974
The Honorable Mark W. White, Jr. Opinion No. H- 267
Secretary of State
Capitol Building Re: Absentee voting
Austin, Texas rights of prisoners
confined in county jails
Dear Secretary White:
On January 16, 1974, the United States Supreme Court issued its
decision in O'Brien v. Skinner, 42 U. S. L. W. 4151, holding invalid
laws of New York State governing absentee voting because those laws
arbitrarily discriminated between prisoners confined in the county of
their residence and those whose residence was in a different county
and thus unconstitutionally denied them equal protection of the law
guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.
You have requested our opinion concerning the effect of that deci-
sion on the applicable election laws of Texas. ParentheticaLly, our
response in no respect applies to those prisoners who are disqualified
to vote by reason of previous felony convictions. Article 6, I, Consti-
tution of Texas; Article 5. 01, Election Code, V. T. C. S.
The applicable Texas Law authorized by Article 6, 2, of the Con-
stitution is found principally in Article 5.05, Election Code, V. T. C. S.
"Subdivision 1. Who may vote absentee. Any
qualified voter of this state who expects to be absent
from the county of his residence on the day of the
election, or who because of sickness, physical disa-
bility, or religious belief cannot appear at the polling
place in the election precinct of his residence on the
day of the election, may nevertheless cause his vote
to be cast at any election held in this state by com-
pliance with the applicable method herein providedp. 1251
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: H-267, text, April 2, 1974; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth270790/m1/1/: accessed June 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.