Mississippi Advisory Opinions January 09, 1998: AGO 97-0803 (January 09, 1998)

Advisory Opinion Text

Hon. William G. Pechloff

Mayor

Town of Terry

P.O. Box 327

Terry, Mississippi 39170

Re: Election commissioners Dear Mr. Pechloff:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your request for an official opinion and has assigned it to me for research and reply. In your letter you inquire:

A member of the Hinds County Executive Committee for one of the political parties (Democratic) has been nominated in Terry to serve on the Municipal Election Committee. Terry is a municipality in which the election is at large. There are not political party primaries and all candidates run as Independents. Will it be illegal for him to accept the municipal seat without resigning from his County position?

Although there is no specific statutory prohibition against a county executive committee member serving as a municipal election commissioner, it is the opinion of this office that it would give the appearance of impropriety for a municipal election commissioner to be identified with a particular group of nominees. This would be contrary to what the Court stated in Meeks v. Tallahatchie County , 513 So.2d 563, 569 (Miss. 1987):

Perhaps more so than is the case with any other public official, the integrity of the office of Elections Commissioner must be totally beyond compromise or even the perception of the possibility of compromise. The legislature has enacted that elections commissioners shall totally remove themselves from any taint or hint or suspicion of partnership. They must be aloof from partisan politics as much as judges, if not more so. For what is at stake is public confidence in our system of self government....

If this office can be of any further assistance, please let us know.

Very truly yours,

Mike Moore, Attorney General.

Sandra M. Shelson Special Assistant Attorney General.