162 Ga. 462 | Ga. | 1926
(After stating the foregoing facts.) On April 22, 1925, an election was held to determine whether the Turkey Creek School District should issue certain bonds. The registration list showed 95 voters entitled to vote in this election; and according to the canvass of the votes east, there were 57 votes
It is our opinion that the first objection urged against the validation of the bonds is not of sufficient force to warrant a reversal of the judgment of the trial court. As appears from the record, the board of education selected the name Turkey Creek School District after the consolidation of certain schools. It is true that one of the schools embraced in the consolidation was known as the Turkey Creek School and the local district in which it was located was known as the Turkey Creek School District, but there is no requirement that when two or more school districts are consolidated the word “consolidated” shall appear as a part of the name selected for the consolidated district. The name Turkey Creek School District having been selected as the name of the district created by consolidation of several local school districts, it was proper that the proceeding for validation should be conducted in the name of the Turkey Creek School District, and the bonds issued in the name of that district.
It is contended that the election as to bonds was invalid, because the certified list of voters which was used in the election was not prepared or issued as required by law, nor furnished to the managers of the election in accordance with law. By section 143 of the school law (Acts 1919, p. 346), when a bond election is called in a school district “the ordinary shall furnish a certified list of registered voters in such school district . . to the managers of the election, thirty days before such election is held.”
For this reason, the controlling question in the case is whether the votes of 13 electors who were females, and all of whom voted in favor of bonds, should be excluded because of their failure to pay poll-tax or to register prior to the election. If, by reason of. the failure to pay poll-tax in 1922, 1923, and 1924 these females were disqualified to vote, then two thirds of the voters voting in the election did not cast their ballots in favor of bonds, and the bond issue should not have been validated. On the other 'hand, if under the facts appearing in the record the 13 females were not required to pay poll-tax or register in 1922, 1923, or 1924 and not required to register in 1922 or 1923, then they were entitled to vote, their votes were properly counted in the result, and the requisite majority voted for the issuance of the bonds in question.
The nineteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States is self-executing, and immediately upon its becoming operative all females were entitled to vote, provided they complied with the regulations surrounding voter’s qualifications in the State of their residence. This amendment became operative on August 26, 1920. At.that time there was no law in Georgia requiring females to pay poll-tax. Brown v. Atlanta, 152 Ga. 283 (109 S. E. 666).. Females in this State, who were otherwise qualified to vote, might have voted at any time between August 26, 1920, and December 20, 1922, without paying poll-tax prior to such voting. Davis v. Warde, 155 Ga.. 748 (118 S. E. 378).. Thus there was no poll-tax required of females prior to December of 1922. In 1921 the legislature passed an act, known as the general tax act (Acts 1921, p., 38), and by section 2 of said act each and every individual inhabitant of this State between the ages of 21 and 60 years was required to pay a poll-tax of $1. It was provided in this act that none of its terms should become operative until January 1, 1922. That part of said act levying a poll-tax superseded section 917 of the Civil Code of 1910, under which poll-tax was levied prior to the passage of the act of 1921, supra. In 1922 another act was passed with reference to levying poll-tax upon females, the .same being an amendment to. paragraph 2 of the general tax act of 1921, supra, which amendment provided that this tax shall not