Texas Attorney General Opinion: DM-168 Page: 1 of 5
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Office of tle ittornep generall
State of Texas
DAN MORALES September 24, 1992
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Honorable John H. Hannah, Jr. Opinion No. DM-168
Secretary of State
State of Texas Re: When the names of persons voting
P. O. Box 12697 early by personal appearance become
Austin, Texas 78711-2697 public information (RQ-369)
Dear Mr. Hannah:
You ask whether the names of persons voting in an election early by personal
appearance become available for public inspection prior to the closing of the polls
on election day. The period for early voting by personal appearance generally
begins on the 20th and ends on the 4th day prior to election day. See Elec. Code
85.001. The names of persons voting early by personal appearance appear, inter
alia, on the early voting ballot applications submitted by voters at the early voting
locations and on the early voting poll lists and early voting rosters completed by the
early voting officials. See Elec. Code 84.001 (early voting applications), 85.031
(early voting poll lists), 87.121 (early voting rosters).
Section 61.007 of the Election Code, in making it an offense for an election
official or watcher to reveal the "names of persons who have or have not voted in
the election" before the polls close and the last voter has voted, indicates that
information as to who has voted is generally not available to the public until after
the election. See also Open Records Decision No. 38 (1974) (names of voters in
school election become open to public access once polls h.ve closed, citing
predecessor provisions of section 61.007 in former Election Code). However,
having reviewed the provisions of the Election Code specifically applicable to early
voting, we conclude that those provisions indicate a legislative intent that the names
of persons voting early by personal appearance become public at the time such
persons vote and that their release is not be subject to the section 61.007
proscription on revealing voter information prior to the time the polls close on
election day.
Title 6 of the Election Code, of which section 61.007 is a part, applies to the
conduct of voting generally. However, title 7 of the code applies specifically to early
voting, the portion of the election process to which the information at issue herep. 883
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: DM-168, text, September 24, 1992; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth273976/m1/1/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.