Mississippi Advisory Opinions April 07, 2003: AGO 2003-0143 (April 07, 2003)

Advisory Opinion Text

Honorable James Breland

Chairman

Greene County Election Commission

Post Office Box 244

Neely, Mississippi 39461

Re: Poll Workers / Redistricting

Dear Mr. Breland:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your letter of request and assigned it to me for research and reply.

Your letter states in part:

We have been working on new redistricting in Greene County. At this time we are trying to get all the registered voters in the right precinct. Of course some are happy and some are not, but you have to do the right thing whatever the law requires. My question is related to district five (5) only. In redistricting some new precinct lines have moved some of the voters that voted in McLain to the Washington Neely precinct. Can poll workers who were moved from one precinct to another still in district five (5) by the new lines work the polls on election day? Can they still work at the old polling place? If they do work is it mandatory they work in the new precinct?

Mississippi Code Annotated Section 23-15-231 (Revised 2001) specifically provides that “any person appointed to be manager or act as manager shall be a qualified elector of the county in which the polling place is located .” (emphasis added). Therefore, a registered voter of Greene County may lawfully be appointed to work at any polling place within that county.

Sincerely,

Mike Moore Attorney General

Phil Carter Special Assistant Attorney General