Mississippi Advisory Opinions February 21, 1991: 19910221 (February 21, 1991)

Advisory Opinion Text

Honorable Glenn Price

Election Commissioner

Route 4, Box 301

Fulton, Mississippi 38843

Dear Mr. Price:

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

“My constituents are greatly concerned because they believe we may end up like Monroe County did in 1983; the Supervisors retaining office another four (4) years without running for re-election.

According to the registered voters, we would have to move one (1) or two (2) precincts from the West side of the Tenn-Tom Waterway to a district on the East side in order to equalize the five (5) districts. To do this would be very unfair to this one (1) or two (2) precincts on the West side, since no one could ever run and hope to be elected for any district office or Justice Court Judge from this one (1) or two (2) precincts west of Tenn-Tom Waterway.

My constituents are asking questions I cannot answer. I need two (2) opinions from your office to help me give them an accurate answer.

No. 1—If we are out of line with the one (1) man one (1) vote ruling, do the Supervisors have to re-district before the election in September or can they do this after the election?

No. 2—Can they cross a natural boundary line like the Tenn-Tom Waterway?”

It should initially be noted that state law requires supervisor elections to he held during the years specified in Mississippi Code Annotated § 23-15-193 (1972) . Accordingly, supervisor elections must be held in 1991. Moreover, Section 23-15-191 requires that the primaries for these elections are to be held on Tuesday, September 17, 1991, with any runoff to be held on Tuesday, October 8, 1991. The general election, pursuant to Section 140, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, is to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 1991.

While the one-person, one-vote doctrine is applicable to the election of county officials from single-member districts, it is the opinion of this office that a board of supervisors does not possess the authority to postpone the elections by its failure to timely apportion itself. Therefore, absent an injunction from a court of competent jurisdiction, the elections should proceed at the time and in the manner prescribed by state law.

In response to your second question, Mississippi Code Annotated § 23-15-281 (1972) provides in part:

“Each county shall be divided into supervisors districts, which shall be the same as those for the election of members of the board of supervisors, and may be subdivided thereafter into voting precincts; and there shall be only one (1) voting place in each voting precinct, but the supervisors districts, voting precincts and voting places as now fixed in each county shall remain until altered. Provided, however, that such boundaries, if altered, shall conform to visible natural or artificial boundaries such as streets, highways, railroads, rivers, lakes, bayous or other obvious lines of demarcation except county lines and municipal corporate limits. ....” (Emphasis Added)

We do not read the above quoted statute to require that the Tenn-Tom Waterway be a boundary line for any newly drawn districts necessitated by the 1990 Census provided the boundaries chosen do conform to other “visible natural or artificial boundaries”.

Sincerely,

Mike Moore Attorney General.

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Notes:

Avery v. Midland County, 390 U.S. 474 (1968) .

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