Mississippi Advisory Opinions July 07, 1995: AGO 95-0475 (July 07, 1995)

Advisory Opinion Text

Honorable Susie Shirley

Clarke County Election Commission

Post Office 323

Shubuta, Mississippi 39360

Re: Residency of Candidate

Dear Ms. Shirley:

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

“I am Susie Shirley - Clarke County Election Commissioner - Chairperson. We have a question for you that is very important to us.

There is a man that lived in Clarke County for x amount of years. I believe it was in 1992 that he moved to Ohio. Since then he has not voted here - or signed up for homestead exemption. He decided to run for circuit clerk in Clarke County. He qualified on the Republican ticket. He mailed his papers from Ohio to Clarke County to ‘get his name in the pot’.

In November it will be up to us (the commissioners) to put his name on the ballot or delete it.

Please put in writing what we are supposed to do. We are in a mess either direction.”

In response to your inquiry, please see the enclosed copy of an opinion addressed to Honorable Melba Ezell, dated January 16, 1991. As stated in Ezell, the determination of residency of a potential candidate in a general election is a question of fact that must be made by the election commission. The opinions attached to Ezell set forth certain guidelines from applicable court decisions that your commission should consider in making that factual determination.

The newspaper article attached to your request indicates that this determination is to be based on the intent expressed by the individual in question. The general rule on residency is that once it is established at a particular location, it continues until removal to another location with the intent to remain there and abandonment of the old domicile without intent to return. Hubbard v. McKey, 193 So. 2d 129 (Miss. 1966) . However, the expressed intent of an individual must be viewed in light of the factual situation. In determining residency, one's statements of intent are entitled to little weight when in conflict with the facts. Cheek v. Fortune, 341 F. Supp 729 (N.D. Miss. 1972)

Sincerely,

Mike Moore, Attorney General

Phil Carter, Special Assistant Attorney General.