Oregon Advisory Opinions October 11, 1974: OAG 74-83 (October 11, 1974)
Collection: Oregon Attorney General Opinions
Docket: OAG 74-83
Date: Oct. 11, 1974
Advisory Opinion Text
OAG 74-83.
Where a schoolhouse is used as a polling place in a special district election under ORS chapter 259, is the special district liable to the school district for expenses incurred in connection with such use of the schoolhouse?
ANSWER GIVEN
No.
ORS chapter 259 establishes the election procedure for most special districts of local government. ORS 259.130 provides:
The "election officer" is the county clerk, except in Multnomah County. ORS 259.010(6). In Multnomah County the registrar of elections performs all functions of the county"The election officer shall, in the manner provided by ORS 246.420, designate one polling place for each election precinct established for a district election."
clerk in connection with election laws. ORS 246.300.
ORS 246.420, referred to in ORS 259.130, supra , provides:
"Not later than the tenth day preceeding any election the county clerk shall designate one polling place for each election precinct. Wherever practicable the county clerk may designate as a polling place any public building, including any schoolhouse, owned or leased by the state or any political subdivision thereof, and such public building may be used as a polling place without expense to the county."
The latter statute evinces a policy of the state to offer all public buildings for use as polling places, and provides that they shall be used "without expense to the county." Why is "the county" specified? Probably because the drafters felt that since the county clerk designates the polling places, (a form of taking) as well as supervises the election, the utilization of such polling places is a county function for which the county would otherwise incur an expense. The idea of "expense" (in a sense, rental) is not related to the units of government which are using the electoral process. For example, under the statute, it has never been considered that although "the county" is exempt from expense in use of the polls for electing county officers, the state must nevertheless pay for use of the polls for electing state officers. With this in mind, we turn to ORS 259.230 which provides:
"Except as otherwise provided by ORS 198.775, a district shall be liable for the expenses incurred for a district election."
(ORS 198.775, referred to, requires petitioners to pay for an unsuccessful attempt to create, dissolve or change boundaries of certain special districts.)
Prior to the enactment of Chapter 796, Oregon Laws 1973, "election officer" was so defined that in most cases someone acting under the special district's authority selected the polling place and conducted the election. Now, as we have noted, the county clerk designates the polling places for special district elections, just as he does generally under ORS 246.420. Furthermore, under other provisions of ORS chapter 259, as "election officer" the county clerk essentially conducts the election, as he does the primary and general election. Logic dictates that if under ORS 245.420 the "expense" of using a public building would, except for specific exemption from liability, be considered chargeable to the county because the county clerk chooses the place and runs the election, the same theory should apply to elections held under ORS chapter 259, and the County, rather than the special district, is "using" the schoolhouse.
Thus, ORS 259.230, in providing that the district shall be liable for the "expenses" of an election, does not include the "expense" of using a public building designated under ORS 259.130/246.420 as a polling place.
A special district therefore is not liable to a school district for expenses incurred by the latter in providing a schoolhouse for use as a polling place in an election held under ORS chapter 259. Under the theory of ORS 246.420
such expense would be that of the county, and the county is exempted from liability.