Mississippi Advisory Opinions March 27, 2015: AGO 2015-00061 (March 27, 2015)
Collection: Mississippi Attorney General Opinions
Docket: AGO 2015-00061
Date: March 27, 2015
Advisory Opinion Text
AUTH: Liz Bolin
RQNM: Connie Cochran
SUBJ: Elections - Ballots
SBCD: 63-A
TEXT: Mrs. Connie Cochran
Chair, Hinds County Election Commission
P.O. Box 946
Jackson, MS 39205-0946
Re: Percentage of ballots to be printed
Dear Mrs. Cochran:
Attorney General Hood is in receipt of your request for an official opinion and it has been assigned to me for research and reply.
Background and Question Presented
Your letter states in part:
I hereby request an Official Opinion/Clarification regarding the percentage of ballots to be printed.
Mississippi Code Annotated Section 23-15-513, Section 2 states "For each primary or general election, the number of official ballots that shall be printed shall be a number that is equal to not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the registered voters eligible to vote in the election."
My question is this: In the case of the primary elections, does this mean ballots must be printed for 75% of the registered voters for the Democratic Party, as well as 75% printed for the Republican Party?
Applicable Law and Analysis
Mississippi Code Section 23-15-501 et seq. describes the use of optical mark reading equipment (OMR) in the conduct of elections. Section 23-15-513(2) specifically addresses the number of ballots required to be printed by counties utilizing OMR equipment and states in part:
(2) For each primary or general election the number of official ballots that shall be printed shall be a number that is equal to not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the registered voters eligible to vote in the election.
Conclusion
In response to your question, it is the duty of the county party executive committees to have ballots printed in an amount not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the registered voters eligible to vote in each primary. Accordingly, the number of ballots printed for the Democratic Primary must be at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the registered voters in the county, and the same number must be printed for the Republican Primary.
Please let us know if this office can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
JIM HOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL.
Elizabeth S. Bolin, Special Assistant Attorney General.