Mississippi Advisory Opinions May 03, 2013: AGO 2013-00155 (May 03, 2013)

Advisory Opinion Text

AUTH: Phil Carter

RQNM: George DeCoux

SUBJ: Elections

SBCD: 71

TEXT: Mr. George DeCoux, Chair

City of Hattiesburg Election Commission

710 Adeline Street

Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39401

Re: Candidate Qualifications

Dear Chairman DeCoux:

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

Issue Presented

You state that the petition form used by candidates for the Hattiesburg City Council is not clear as to whether the required signatures must be the signatures of qualified electors of the appropriate ward as opposed to qualified electors of the municipality at large. You seek clarification on the matter.

Response

We have consistently opined that if a particular ward has a population of one thousand (1, 000) or more, a candidate seeking to represent that ward on a city governing board must file a petition asking that his name be placed on the municipal general election ballot personally signed by not less than fifty (50) qualified electors of said ward. If the population of a ward is less than one thousand (1, 000) the petition must be signed by not less than fifteen (15) qualified electors of said ward. MS AG Op., Pearce (December 18, 1991); MS AG Op., Patterson (February 23, 1996); MS AG Op., Wiggins (May 6, 2005).

Applicable Law and Analysis

(1) The municipal general election ballot shall contain the names of all candidates who have been put in nomination by the municipal primary election of any political party. There shall be printed on the ballots the names of all persons so nominated, whether the nomination be otherwise known or not, upon the written request of one or more of the candidates so nominated, or of any qualified elector who will make oath that he was a participant in the primary election, and that the person whose name is presented by him was nominated by such primary election. The municipal election commissioner designated to have the ballots printed shall also have printed on the ballot in any municipal general election the name of any candidate who, not having been nominated by a political party, shall have been requested to be a candidate for any office by a petition filed with the clerk of the municipality no later than 5:00 p.m. on the same date by which candidates for nomination in the municipal primary elections are required to pay the fee provided for in Section 23-15-309, and signed by not less than the following number of qualified electors:

(a) For an office elected by the qualified electors of a municipality having a population of one thousand (1, 000) or more, not less than fifty (50) qualified electors.

(b) For an office elected by the qualified electors of a municipality having a population of less than one thousand (1, 000), not less than fifteen (15) qualified electors.

While Section 23-15-361 does not contain specific provisions forward elections, the obvious intent of the petition requirement is that the required signatures must be of qualified electors who are eligible to vote in a particular election. The qualified electors of a particular ward are the only municipal voters eligible to vote for that ward's representative on a city council.

There is no statutory form that must be used by candidates seeking municipal office.

It is the individual candidate's responsibility to know the legal requirements of his or her petition for a seat on a municipal city council and insure that the petition that is filed meets those legal requirements.

Sincerely,

JIM HOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Phil Carter, Special Assistant Attorney General