Mississippi Advisory Opinions August 23, 2013: AGO 2013-00299 (August 23, 2013)

Advisory Opinion Text

TEXT: B. Parker Berry

Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens & Cannada, PLLC

Special Counsel

Pear River County Board of Supervisors

P.O. Box 6010

AUTH: Liz Bolin

RQNM: B. Parker Berry

SUBJ: Elections

SBCD: 67

Ridgeland, MS 39158-6010

Re: Pear River County Board of Supervisors

Dear Mr. Berry:

Attorney General Hood is in receipt of your request for an official opinion and it has been assigned to me for research and reply.

Background and Questions Presented

Your letter states in part:

We represent the Board of Supervisors (“Board”) of Pearl River County (“County”) as special counsel for the redistricting of the Board and various other County officials. The Board has authorized us to request your opinion on a legal issue relating to the location and use of precincts and polling places within the County.

As a result of an on-going settlement agreement entered into with the United States Department of Justice, the County is required to make all polling place locations ADA-compliant by the next election cycle. In an attempt to comply with the agreement, the County has constructed numerous new ADA-compliant facilities within many voting precincts, while updating other existing locations. However, the County still has several voting precincts that do not have an ADA-compliant polling place location located within the voting precinct. To solve this problem, the Board wishes to reduce the number of excess voting precincts located within the County, and therefore, reduce the number of needed ADA- compliant facilities as polling places.

In one circumstance, an area of the County contains three different supervisor districts all located within a mile of the other. Currently, this area is divided into three separate precincts requiring three separate polling places and thus, three separate ADA-compliant facilities, two of which are not yet in compliance. The Board is interested in re-drawing these three separate voting precincts into one precinct and using a newly constructed ADA-compliant facility as the polling place location for this area. The newly constructed ADA-compliant facility, as the proposed polling place location, is convenient in location for voters in the proposed precinct and sufficient in size to accommodate the precinct and the use of the required number of electronic voting machines. However, the Board is uncertain as to whether a precinct that includes portions of three different supervisor districts and only one polling place for that precinct can be legally created.

In considering the circumstance, Section 23-15-285 of the Mississippi Code provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

The board of supervisors shall cause an entry to be made on the minutes of the board at some meeting, as early as convenient, defining the boundaries of the several supervisors districts and voting precincts in the county, and designating the voting place in each voting precinct ; and as soon as practicable after any change is made in any supervisors district, voting precinct or any voting place, the board of supervisors shall cause such change to be entered on the minutes of the board in such manner as to be easily understood.

Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-285 (1972) (emphasis added). Accordingly, the Board requests your opinion as to the following:

May the Board of the County, in accordance with Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-285 (1972), compose a voting precinct that encompasses portions of three different supervisor districts and establish one polling place location within the precinct if such polling place location is reasonably located and legally sufficient to accommodate voters from each supervisor district located within the precinct?

Response

A voting precinct may include portions of three supervisor districts. In accordance with Mississippi law, the precinct shall have only one polling place. Furthermore, precincts must be drawn in compliance with the provisions found in Miss. Code Ann. Sections 23-15-281 and 23-15-285.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Mississippi Code Section 23-15-281 (1972) reads as follows:

Each county shall be divided into supervisors districts, which shall be the same as those for the election of members of the board of supervisors, and may be subdivided thereafter into voting precincts; and there shall be only one (1) voting place in each voting precinct , but the supervisors districts, voting precincts and voting places as now fixed in each county shall remain until altered. Provided, however, that such boundaries, if altered, shall conform to visible natural or artificial boundaries such as streets, highways, railroads, rivers, lakes, bayous or other obvious lines of demarcation except county lines and municipal corporate limits. The board of supervisors, no later than April 1, 1987, shall notify the office of the Secretary of State of the boundary of each supervisors district and voting precinct as then fixed and shall provide said office a legal description and a map of each supervisors district and voting precinct and shall indicate the voting place in each such district. (Emphasis added).

Mississippi Code Section 23-15-285 (1972) states in part:

The board of supervisors shall cause an entry to be made on the minutes of the board at some meeting, as early as convenient, defining the boundaries of the several supervisors districts and voting precincts in the county, and designating the voting place in each voting precinct; . . .The changed boundaries shall conform to visible natural or artificial boundaries such as streets, highways, railroads, rivers, lakes, bayous or other obvious lines of demarcation, with the exception of county lines and municipal corporate limits.

No voting precinct shall have more than five hundred (500) qualified electors residing in its boundaries. Subject to the provisions fo this section, each board of supervisors of the various counties of this state shall as soon as practical after the effective date of this section, alter or change the boundaries of the various voting precincts to comply herewith and shall from time to time make such changes in the boundaries of voting precincts so that there shall never be more than five hundred (500) qualified electors within the boundaries of the various voting precincts of this state; provided further, this limitation shall not apply to voting precincts that are so divided, alphabetically or otherwise, so as to have less than five hundred (500) qualified electors in any one (1) box within a voting precinct. However, the limitation of five hundred (500) qualified electors to the voting precinct shall not apply to voting precincts in which voting machines are used at all elections held in that voting precinct. No change in any supervisors district or voting precinct shall take effect less than thirty (30) days before the qualifying deadline for the office of county supervisor.

Conclusion

We are of the opinion that a county may lawfully draw a voting precinct which encompasses three different supervisor districts. Pursuant to Section 23-15-281, the precinct may have only one polling place. When drawing the precinct, the county must take into consideration limitations set forth in Section 23-15-285 regarding the number of qualified electors permitted per precinct. Furthermore, the precinct boundary lines must conform to visible natural or artificial boundaries.

Please let us know if this office can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

JIM HOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Elizabeth S. Bolin Special Assistant Attorney General