Mississippi Advisory Opinions May 05, 1977: 1977-0037 (May 05, 1977)

Advisory Opinion Text

Mrs. Jo Ann O'Neal

Secretary

Board of Election Commissioners

Harrison County

Post Office Box 6691

Gulfport, Mississippi 39501

Elections-Registrars-Commissioners

Dear Mrs. O'Neal:

Your letter of April 8, 1977 addressed to Mr. P. L. Douglas has been assigned to me for research and reply.

You posed seven numbered questions in your letter which, because of the length, I am attaching a copy hereto for reference. There follows my response to your questions in the same order as those questions.

1. Reference is made to Section 23-5-83 of the Mississippi Code of 1972 Annotated, which states:

Registrar to attend certan meetings.

The registrar shall attend the meetings of the commissioners, and shall furnish them the registration books and the poll books, and shall render them all needed assistance of which he is capable in the performance of their duties in revising the list of qualified electors.

This question is not specifically addressed by this statute or any other statute. If the Registrar is capable of performing the described tasks then it would be proper for the Registrar to assume such tasks.

2. This question is not specifically addressed by Section 23-5-83 or any other statute. The Election Commissioners have the responsibility of reviewing the registration books at intervals required by statute and deciding what persons are to be registered. The “pulling of computer cards” and removal of names from poll books are administrative tasks; if the Registrar is capable, it would be proper for him to do such tasks.

3. There is no statute authorizing Election Commissioners to cause the removal of a voter's name from the registration books because that voter has not voted in the immediately past five elections.

4. The Election Commissioners may inquire into the status of such persons, and if such are found to be qualified electors of Harrison County, cause their names to be entered into the registration books.

5. Again, the cited statute does not specifically address this question. The statute appears to provide that if the Registrar is capable of helping the commissioners with clerical and administrative assistance then it would be proper for the Registrar to do so.

6. In response to this question, I enclose for your information an Attorney General's opinion dated August 28, 1974 given to Honorable Martin T. Smith.

7. In my opinion: (a) The name of a registered voter may be removed from a registration book if the registered person so requests and the commissioners so decide; (b) It may be removed by order of a Circuit Judge when the matter was properly before the judge in pleadings filed or by appeal from Election Commissioners. These circumstances would be the only conditions under which the court would be authorized to act.

With kind regards, I am Yours very truly,

A. F. Summer, Attorney General.