Freeman v. Callaway
Freeman v. Callaway
Opinion of the Court
The Tignall Consolidated School District includes all of the 181st militia district, and most of the territory embraced in 165th, 167th, 179th, and 180th militia districts, of Wilkes County. All of the voting precincts in these militia districts are included within the boundaries of this school district. The schoolhouse of this school district is located in the Town of Tignall, which is in the 179th militia district. There is a regular voting precinct in this town. The citizens of this consolidated school district wished to supplement the funds received from the State public-school fund by leving a tax therein for educational purposes. So they presented to the ordinary of the county a petition from one fourth of the qualified voters of the district, praying for the call of an election for that purpose. Thereupon the ordinary, on May 6, 1927, passed an order calling an election for such purpose
By section 124 of the Code of School Laws it is provided: “Whenever the citizens of any school district wish to supplement the funds received from the State public-school fund by levying a tax for educational purposes, they shall present a petition from one fourth of the qualified voters of the district to the ordinary, who shall order the election not earlier than twenty days nor later than sixty days after the petition is received; provided, that notice of same shall be posted in at least three conspicuous places in the district ten days prior to the election. The election shall be held at a time and place prescribed by the proper authorities, and under rules governing ordinary elections.” Acts 1919, p. 338;-8 Park’s Code Supp. 1922, § 1438(h). We are called upon to construe that portion of the above law which declares that “The election shall be held at a time and place prescribed by the proper authorities, and nnder rules governing ordinary elections.” It is insisted by counsel for petitioners that said election must be held at a regular election precinct established in accordance with the provisions of section 79 of the Civil Code, at which elections for members of the General Assembly and county officers are held. The contention is, that, under the sentence above quoted from the Code of School Laws, the ordinary has no power to designate the place at which
As the ordinal, under this language, is the proper authority for-fixing the time, it would seem to necessarily follow that he is the proper authority for fixing the place for holding the election. He passes the order naming the day of the election. He is the proper-authority for- this purpose. It would seem necessarily to follow from the language quoted that he is the proper authority for prescribing the place of holding the election. Both time and place are to be prescribed by the proper county authorities. Clearly, if the ordinary is the proper officer to prescribe the time, he is the proper officer to prescribe the place. While the provision of this section of the Code of School Laws upon this subject is not entirely clear and free from doubt, we think that it was the purpose of the legislature that the ordinary, in passing an order calling the election, should fix both the date and the place in the district at which the election should be held. The election is to be held at a place prescribed, and not at various polling places within the school district. There is nothing in the section which provides that this election shall be held at a regular election precinct. In our opinion, under this law the ordinary must prescribe the time and place at which the election is to be held; and he must do this in his order calling the election. It is insisted by counsel for petitioners that the decisions in Dyson v. Pope, 71 Ga. 205, and Walker v. Sanford, 78 Ga. 165 (1 S. E. 424), are on all-fours with
Judgment affirmed.
Concurring Opinion
concurring. The ordinary’s power to provide the place at which the election should be held is derived from the Civil Code, § 4796, subsection 4, wherein he is granted “original and exclusive jurisdiction . . in establishing and changing election precincts.”
Reference
- Full Case Name
- FREEMAN v. CALLAWAY, commissioner
- Status
- Published