Oregon Advisory Opinions March 14, 1956: OAG 56-12 (March 14, 1956)

Oregon Attorney General Opinions

1956.

OAG 56-12.

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You have requested an opinion of this office relative to the interpretation of ORS 247.050 with regard to voter registration or non-registration of persons residing within the corporate limits of the City of Eugene, and likewise the persons residing within the limits of the school district having the same geographic limits and area as the city by reason of the following facts and presumed requirements of the law:

1. The City of Eugene has ordered a special election to be held March 27. The County Clerk of Lane County, conforming to what is understood to be the intent of ORS 247.050, has announced that no person residing in Eugene may register as a voter during the period from February 25 to March 27.

2. The local school district, which embraces all Eugene city precincts, has declared intention of holding a special election April 26; a literal interpretation of said law would bar citizens of Eugene registering as voters during the period from March 26 to April 26.

3. The state-wide primary nominating election is to be held May 18, and during the period from April 17 to May 18, registration of voters by the county clerk will be closed.

4. Strict compliance with the statute and its apparent intent will result in complete suspension of registration facilities as to residents of the City of Eugene, and will bar those desiring to register from doing so, from this date until the primary election has been held May 18, 1956.

Pertinent provisions of ORS 247.050 are as follows:

"(1) The county clerk shall register any qualified elector who requests to be registered. However, he shall refuse to register any elector during 30 days next preceding any general or primary election or any special election held throughout the county. If the special election is not held throughout the county, he shall not register any electors residing in any precinct in which the special election is to be held during the 30 days next preceding the special election.

"(3) If the clerk wrongfully refuses to register an elector, the elector may proceed by mandamus against the clerk." (Emphasis supplied)

In Opinions of the Attorney General, 1926-1928, p. 447, this office held that the County Clerk of Multnomah County was complying with the law in refusing to register one Mrs. Roy, a resident of the City of Portland who had applied to the county clerk for registration to vote at some time between March 9 and March 14, 1928, it appearing that the county clerk had closed registration books in Multnomah County during the 30 days next preceding the special election to be held by the City of Portland on April 9, 1928, the closing being pursuant to the command of chapter 304, Oregon Laws 1919 (now ORS 247.050).

By reason of the denial of registration to Mrs. Roy as mentioned in said opinion, she forthwith brought a proceeding in mandamus to compel the county clerk to permit her to register. In Roy v. Beveridge, 125 Or. 92, the court held, at page 100, in construing the effect of what is now ORS 247.050, and particularly subsection (1) thereof, as follows:

"It seems clear both from the title of the act and the section above quoted that the County Clerk acted entirely within his duty in closing the registration books up to the date of the proposed election [April 9, 1928] and that the plaintiff will lose the privilege of voting on the question of merger of the power companies. However, if she exercises the same zeal to have her registration changed after the special election as she has under existing circumstances, she will have the inestimable privilege of voting at the May primaries [May 18, 1928] * * *." (Emphasis supplied)

The Supreme Court of Oregon has had before it for construction the Act, as amended or revised, which has become ORS 247.050; the court's construction of the law is, of course, binding upon this office. It is to be noted that the court observed in said opinion that the petitioner could, if diligent, register and become qualified to vote in the May primary election following (this she could have done at any time during the period from April 9 to April 17, 1928, inclusive).

School district elections are governed by § 6, Article VIII, Oregon Constitution, by ORS 331.020 and by ORS 247.050. Consequently, the special election to be held by said school district on April 26 is a special election to be held within Lane County requiring the county clerk to close registration as to all residents of precincts within the limits of said school district for 30 days next preceding the date of such election, pursuant to ORS 247.050.

Based upon the foregoing, it is my opinion that ORS 247.050 imposes the following duties upon the County Clerk of Lane County relative to registration of voters from now until after the primary election on May 18, 1956:

a. He is obliged to refuse to register

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any person applying for registration who is a resident of any precinct of Lane County within the corporate limits of the City of Eugene, during the period from now until March 26, inclusive.

b. He is obliged to refuse to register any person applying for registration who is a resident of any precinct of Lane County lying within the boundaries of said school district, during the period from March 27 to April 25, inclusive.

c. He is obliged to refuse to register any person applying for registration who is a resident of any precinct of Lane County during the period from April 17 to May 18, inclusive, being the period for which registration is closed as to the entire county prior to the state-wide primary election to be held on May 18, 1956.

d. Any person residing in Lane County and in a precinct other than those mentioned in "a" or "b" above who requests that he or she be registered, at any time during the period from now until April 17, inclusive, should be registered and the registration books of Lane County should be kept open for that purpose.

e. Attention of the county clerk should also be called to Opinions of the Attorney General, 1952-1954, p. 92.

It is to be regretted that the right to register and the resultant right to vote, one of the most important of the privileges of citizenship, must be denied to what may be a large number of residents of the City of Eugene. However, since our supreme court has ruled on a similar situation involving the particular statute under review, we must necessarily abide by that decision and the state of the election laws as they now stand. It would appear that such contingency as presented by the impending special elections deserves to be remedied. That remedy must be supplied by the legislature.