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

Advisory Opinion Text

Elections - Registrar

Honorable Robert L. Carter

Circuit Clerk

99 Court Street

Batesville, Mississippi 38606

Dear Mr. Carter:

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

Your letter states:

“Panola County has two municipalities, Crenshaw and Crowder, that are divided by the county line. My question is: Is the City Clerk in the County other than Panola eligible to be a registrar for Panola County.”

Chpater 460, Laws of 1984, provides in part:

“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 fulltime basis and the office of the clerk is held open for regular hours each day.”

Assuming that the above quoted statutory requirements are met, it is the opinion of this office that the clerk of any municipality which is divided by a county line(s) must be appointed as deputy county registrar for each of the counties wherein any portion of said municipality lies. The fact that the municipal clerk does not reside in one of said counties does not, in our opinion, disqualify him or her from serving as a deputy registrar for that county.

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

Very truly yours,

Edwin Lloyd Pittman, Attorney General