Mississippi Advisory Opinions April 11, 1985: 19850411 (April 11, 1985)

Advisory Opinion Text

Mrs. Mable Rogers

Town Clerk

Sylvarena, Mississippi 39153

Dear Mrs. Rogers:

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

Your letter states in part:

“I am the Town Clerk for the Town of Sylvarena, Mississippi, and I would like your opinion as to the validity of the form of a handwritten sheet of paper filed with the Clerk of the Town of Sylvarena as a prospective candidate's petition for Mayor.

“A copy of the document is attached to this letter for your reference . . .”

Mississippi Code Annotated § 23-5-134 (Supp. 1984) provides in part:

“(l) The ballot shall contain the names of all candidates who have been put in nomination, not less than sixty (60) days previous to the day of the election, by the primary election of any political party. There shall be printed on the ballots the names of all persons so nominated, whether the nomination be otherwise known or not, upon the written request of one or more of the candidates so nominated, or of any qualified elector who will make oath that he was a participant in the primary election, and that the person whose name is presented by him was nominated by such primary election. The commissioner shall also have printed on the ballot in any general or special election the name of any candidate who, not having been nominated by a political party, shall have been requested to be a candidate for any office by a petition filed with said commissioner, not less than sixty (60) days prior to the election, and signed by not less than the following number of qualified electors:

(f) For an office elected by qualified electors of a supervisors district or a municipality having a population of less than one thousand (1, 000), not less than fifteen (15) qualified electors. (Emphasis added)

In response to your inquiry, while the petition in question does not contain a request that an individual be a candidate as required by the above quoted statute, the decision as to the validity of the petition is a factual determination which must be made by the municipal election commission.

Very truly yours,

Edwin Lloyd Pittman, Attorney General.