Mississippi Advisory Opinions May 26, 1993: AGO 93-0347 (May 26, 1993)

Advisory Opinion Text

Lamar Conerly, Jr., Esquire

Attorney for City of Hazlehurst

Post Office Box 636

Hazlehurst, Mississippi 39083

RE: INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE VOTING IN PRIMARY

Dear Mr. Conerly:

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

“It has been brought to my attention that in the City of Hazlehurst we have a candidate who is qualified to run for Mayor as an Independent. However, based on the voter rolls and affidavits of poll workers, that same candidate cast a ballot in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, May 4. My question is that under Section 23–15–575 of the Mississippi Code, can on one hand this Mayoral candidate purport to be a Democrat and under the law be obligated to support the nominee of the democratic party and on the other hand qualify and run as an independent candidate in the general election?”

Mississippi Code Annotated § 23–15–575 (Revised 1990) provides:

“No person shall be eligible to participate in any primary election unless he intends to support the nominations made in the primary in which he participates.”

In response to your inquiry, while the individual in question was clearly subject to challenge pursuant to Section 23–15–579 which could have resulted in his ballot being rejected or not counted in determining the results of the primary, we find nothing that would disqualify him as an independent candidate in the general election.

Sincerely,

MIKE MOORE, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Phil Carter, Assistant Attorney General