IN THE SUPREME COURT OF
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No. 06-0275
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In re Marion Barnett, Relator
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On Petition for Writ of Mandamus
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PER CURIAM
In this original mandamus proceeding, Reverend Marion
Barnett seeks to require the
The
facts are undisputed. On March 7, 2006, the filing deadline, Barnett timely
filed an application to become a candidate for an unexpired term for DISD Trustee,
District Six, by submitting a one-page “Application for a Place on the Dallas
I.S.D. General Election Ballot”Ca form promulgated by the Secretary of
State. See Appendix. In the space for “permanent residence address”
Barnett wrote “
Barnett properly completed the remainder of the application in which he provided the following information: (1) his full name; (2) his date of birth; (3) his occupation; (4) his office and home telephone numbers; and (5) his voter registration number. In addition, he stated under oath that he had continuously lived in District Six for thirty-three years.
In a letter dated March 7, 2006, and in a subsequent phone call, DISD rejected Barnett’s application. The letter stated as follows:
Your application is being rejected as to form, content and procedure. Your application does not indicate a permanent address. If you do not have a permanent address then you are required to describe your location of residence.
The
following day, Barnett submitted a corrected application in which he certified
under oath that he resides at 3912 Morning Frost Trail,
To be an eligible candidate for trustee representing a single-member school board district, a candidate must be a resident of the district the candidate seeks to represent. Tex. Educ. Code ' 11.052(g). “A candidate’s application for a place on the ballot . . . must . . . include . . . the candidate’s residence address or, if the residence has no address, the address at which the candidate receives mail and a concise description of the location of the candidate’s residence.” Tex. Elec. Code ' 141.031(4)(I). DISD and Bingham argue that Barnett’s application does not satisfy these statutory provisions because the application does not state that he resides at an address within the geographic boundaries of District Six. They contend that because Barnett wrote his residence address in the space reserved for the mailing address, “it was impossible for the D.I.S.D. to establish [Barnett’s] residency from this document.” We disagree.
We
held in In re Bell that where
individuals who signed an election petition omitted their city and zip code
from their address, their residency in the proper voting precinct could be
verified by examining the voter registration records maintained by the county
tax assessor-collector’s office. In re
In
the space on the application for permanent address, Barnett wrote “
As
in
DISD
and Bingham argue, however, that they have no authority to inquire into facts
outside the application; therefore, because Barnett omitted the street name and
number from his residence address, they cannot confirm that he resides in
District Six. They cite Garcia v. Carpenter, 525 S.W.2d 160, 161 (
Further,
Garcia is authority for disqualifying a candidate for failure to satisfy
residency requirements based on public recordsCincluding voter
registration records. 525 S.W.2d at 161. The Garcia
decision implies that election officials may determine a candidate’s residency
by looking to public records that are “conclusive in nature.”
Having examined the four corners of the application, we hold that in this case Barnett provided sufficient information in his application to allow respondents to determine that he resides in District Six. Accordingly, without hearing oral argument, we conditionally grant the petition for writ of mandamus and order respondents to certify Barnett as a candidate in the upcoming election for DISD Trustee, District Six, and to place his name on the ballot. Tex. R. App. P. 52.8(c). The writ will not issue unless respondents fail to comply with our order.
Opinion delivered: April 21, 2006
[1] Barnett=s address-related responses on the application form were likely influenced by the particulars of the form itself. See Appendix. In the space for permanent residence address, the form indicates in bold, capitalized letters that one is to include the city, state, and zip code; but the requirement that one include a street address is not as noticeable. In addition, there is little room to write a street address in the space provided for the permanent residence address. On the other hand, in the adjacent space provided for the mailing address there is sufficient room to write a street address, as well as the city, state, and zip code. Nevertheless, Barnett clearly averred in the application that he resides in District Six.
[2] The Dallas Central Appraisal District property tax
records are easily accessible, and these records confirm that Barnett has
claimed a homestead exemption for the residence located at 3912 Morning Frost
Trail,