Mississippi Advisory Opinions August 28, 1984: 19840828 (August 28, 1984)

Advisory Opinion Text

Elections-Registrars

Honorable Sam J. Ely, Jr.

Circuit Clerk

Post Office Box 576

Indianola, Mississippi 38751

Dear Mr. Ely:

Attorney General Edwin Lloyd Pittman has received your letter of request and has assigned it to me for research and reply.

Your letter states:

“Is a qualified Municipal Clerk that has been appointed, by statute, as a Deputy Registrar for the County, in which he resides, qualified to register any resident of his county for elections, regardless of residence of the applicant, in the county.”

Chapter 461, Laws of 1984 provides in part:

“The State Board of Election Commissioners, on or before the fifteenth day of February succeeding each general election, shall appoint in the several counties registrars of elections, who shall hold office for four (4) years and until their successors shall be duly qualified. The registrar is empowered to appoint deputy registrars, with the consent of the board of election commissioners, who may discharge the duties of the registrar .

The clerk of every municipality with a population of or in excess of five hundred (500) shall be appointed as such a deputy registrar, provided that such clerk is employed by the municipality on a full-time basis and the office of the clerk is held open for regular hours each day.” (Emphasis added)

Chapter 457, Laws of 1984 provides in part:

“In cases in which the clerk of the municipality has been appointed as a deputy county registrar, such clerk shall be authorized to register applicants as county electors.”

In response to your inquiry, it is the opinion of this office that a qualified municipal clerk who has been duly appointed a deputy county registrar is authorized and required to register any resident of a county wherein the municipality or any portion thereof lies provided, of course, said resident possesses all the requisite qualifications to be a qualified elector.

Therefore, the answer to your question is “yes”.

Very truly yours,

Edwin Lloyd Pittman, Attorney General