Article III, Section 41 of the Texas Constitution ("Elections by Senate and House of Representatives")
Adopted February 15, 1876:
In all elections by the Senate and House of Representatives, jointly or separately, the vote shall be given viva voce, except in the election of their officers.
Editor Comments
In the election context, "viva voce" means casting a vote aloud for all to hear rather than by secret ballot.
Recent Decisions
- In re Texas Senate, 36 S.W.3d 119, 120 (Tex. 2000) (footnote omitted) ("The question, then, is whether the election of a Senator to perform the duties of the office of Lieutenant Governor is an election of a Senate officer within the meaning of article III, section 41. The person to be elected will be the presiding officer of the Senate, but he will also be performing the duties of a State official in the Executive Department . . . . The real parties in interest concede as they must that the person to be elected will be in part a Senate officer, but they contend that his additional duties remove him from the category of Senate 'officers' as that term is used in the Constitution. We disagree.")
Historic Decisions
None.
Library Resources
- Vernon's Annotated Constitution of the State of Texas (multi-volume and up-to-date resource available at all law and many municipal libraries)
- The Texas State Constitution: A Reference Guide (one-volume resource available at most law and some municipal libraries)
- The Constitution of the State of Texas: An Annotated and Comparative Analysis (two-volume resource available at most law and some municipal libraries)
Online Resources
- Constitution of the State of Texas (1876) (resource published online and maintained by the University of Texas School of Law)
- Amendments to the Texas Constitution Since 1876 (resource published online and regularly updated by the Legislative Council)
- Reports Analyzing Proposed Amendments (resource published online and regularly updated by the Legislative Reference Library)