Mississippi Advisory Opinions April 05, 2005: AGO 000016539 (April 5, 2005)

AGO 000016539.

Dear Ms. Noel:

Attorney General Jim Hood has received your letter of request and assigned it to me for research and reply. Your letter states:

I am a Municipal Election Commissioner for the City of Lexington. We received the Status Code Report from the Circuit Clerk for the Holmes County Voters Roll in January 2005 which shows voter's who have been purged from the Holmes County Voter's Roll for the following reasons: Code M ------ Moved Code D ------ Deceased and in February we received a list of voters names who have been purged for disqualifying crimes (Code C - Convicted Felon).

I was recently appointed an Election Commissioner for the City of Lexington. Including me, there are three (3) Municipal Commissioners for the City of Lexington. I want to fulfill my duties for this position to the best of my skills, ability and understanding.

On the Holmes County Circuit Clerk Status Code Report there are approximately 75 deceased persons listed on this roll who are registered voters in the City of Lexington and there are approximately 175 voters listed on this Status Code Report who are still on the Municipal Voter Roll for the City of Lexington.

You state that no purge has been done by the Municipal Commissioners for 2005 and then present three (3) questions which we will respond to in the order presented.

QUESTION 1: Is it lawful to leave these 75 deceased persons and 175 moved persons on the City of Lexington Municipal Poll Books and hold a Municipal Election in May 2005? What will happen if the election is held and these names are not removed?

RESPONSE: In our opinion addressed to Alderman Arthur Balch, dated July 14, 1993 (copy enclosed) we said that "the voter rolls used in municipal elections must accurately reflect only the names of persons eligible to vote in said elections." We also said in that opinion that the purging requirements of Mississippi Code Annotated Section 23-15-153 (Supp. 2004) applies to the municipal voter rolls as well as county voter rolls. That statute provides in part:

....the commissioners of election shall meet at the office of the registrar and carefully revise the registration books and the pollbooks of the several precincts, and shall erase from those books the names of all persons erroneously on the books, or who have died, removed or become disqualified as electors from any cause; ..... (emphasis added)

The failure of a municipal election commission to properly purge the registration books and poll books in accordance with the above quoted statute could result in the fraudulent use of the names of deceased voters or voters who have been otherwise disqualified to cast illegal votes which could affect the validity of the election.

QUESTION 2: Should the Municipal Commissioners do a purge before the upcoming 2005 Municipal Election?

RESPONSE: In our response to your first question we said that the voter rolls used in municipal elections must accurately reflect on the names of persons eligible to vote in said elections. If the registration books and/or poll books currently have names of individuals who have died or otherwise become disqualified, those names must be removed as soon as possible. Therefore, the answer to your question is yes.

QUESTION 3: When this Status Code Report is mailed to the Municipal Clerks by the Circuit Clerk in January is it the responsibility of the Municipal Commissioners to use this list for purging?

RESPONSE: We understand from your letter that the "Status Code Report" contains only the names of persons whose names have been purged from the county voter registration records. If the county election commission disqualifies a voter who resides within the boundaries of your municipality, your commission must also remove that person's name from the municipal voter rolls. MS AG Op., Prince (August 23, 1995).

Sincerely,

JIM HOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By:

Phil Carter Special Assistant Attorney General