Mississippi Advisory Opinions April 24, 2009: No. 2009-00196 (April 24, 2009)

No. 2009-00196.

Dear Councilman Bluntson:

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

Issue Presented

You correctly point out that the names of candidates in a municipal primary election are required to be listed alphabetically (Mississippi Code Annotated Sections 23-15-171 and 23-15-333) and state that the official ballot for the May 5, 2009 municipal democratic primary election for the City of Jackson lists the name of Jacqueline R. Amos-Norris above your name and ask if this is the proper arrangement.

Preface

We preface our response by stating that pursuant to Section 7-5-25, opinions of the Attorney General are issued on questions of law for the future guidance of those officials entitled to receive them. An Attorney General's opinion can neither validate nor invalidate past action of an officer or agency. Therefore, our response is prospective in nature and is not to be viewed as a ruling on the order of the ballot in question.

Response

We are of the opinion that hyphenated names should be alphabetized based on the first name in the hyphenated series. Therefore, if a candidate has a hyphenated name and the first name in the hyphenated series begins with the letter "A" it would be listed above the last name of a candidate whose last name begins with the letter "B."

Sincerely,

JIM HOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: Phil Carter

Special Assistant Attorney General