Mississippi Advisory Opinions November 13, 2009: No. 2009-00660 (November 13, 2009)

No. 2009-00660.

Dear Mr. Esposito:

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

Are the political parties authorized to place two pollwatchers in each polling place at general elections, primary elections and special elections to fill vacancies?

Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-245 (1972) reads as follows:

It shall be the duty of the manager designated as bailiff to be present at the voting place, and to take such steps as will accomplish the purpose of his appointment, and he shall have full power to do so, and he may summon to his aid all persons present at the voting place. A space thirty (30) feet in every direction from the polls, or the room in which the election is held, shall be kept open and clear of all persons except the election officers and two (2) challengers of good conduct and behavior, selected by each party to detect and challenge illegal voters; and the electors shall approach the polls from one direction, line, door or passage, and depart in another as nearly opposite as convenient.

Each candidate shall have the right, either in person or by a representative to be named by him, to be present at the polling place, and the managers shall provide him or his representative with a suitable position from which he or his representative may be able to carefully inspect the manner in which the election is held. He or his representative shall be allowed to challenge the qualifications of any person offering to vote, and his challenge shall be considered and acted upon by the managers.

Sections 23-15-245 and 23-15-577 establish the authority for pollwatchers to be present in the polling place. Under 23-15-577 a candidate may be his own pollwatcher or he may appoint an individual to be a pollwatcher on behalf of the candidate. 23-15-577 would apply to general, primary and special elections. 23-15-245 authorizes political parties to appoint two "challengers of good conduct and behavior" in be present in each polling place.

In MS AG Op., Teel (March 6, 1992) this office held that opponents and supporters of a referendum have no authority to have pollwatchers at a polling place. Furthermore, that opinion stated that the authority of political parties to appoint two pollwatchers under 23-15-245 "applies only to elections wherein party nominees are competing for election to public office."

Accordingly, our responses to your three questions are as follows:

1) Are political parties authorized in 23-15-245 to appoint pollwatchers in primary elections? Answer: No.

2) Are political parties authorized in 23-15-245 to appoint pollwatchers in general elections? Answer: Yes, if party nominees are competing in such general election.

3.) Are political parties authorized in 23-15-245 to appoint pollwatchers in special elections to fill vacancies? No, since party nominees do not normally participate in special elections to fill vacancies.

Please let me know if you would like to discuss this matter or if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

JIM HOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: Reese Partridge

Assistant Attorney General