Mississippi Advisory Opinions November 02, 1983: AGO 000008879 (November 2, 1983)

Mississippi Attorney General Opinions

1983.

AGO 000008879.

1983-629

---

Dear Ms. Overstreet:

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

Your letter states:

"Due to our county redistricting plan, our Justice Court Judge race will split a voting precinct.

"In your opinion will we have to list the names of all voters in that precinct and which Judge they vote for or would it be allowable to post a legal description as to the boundary lines dividing the Post 1 and Post 2 Judge."

In a telephone conversation you informed us that your inquiry concerns a court-ordered election that will be held in January, 1984.

In response to your inquiry, please see the enclosed copy of an opinion addressed to Honorable James D. Dobbs, dated May 6, 1983. Although that opinion concerns senatorial districts, the same principles would apply to the situation you described in your letter.

In summary, that opinion states in part that the county election commission with the assistance of the circuit clerk or a deputy may ascertain the proper district in which each qualified elector of a precinct resides and that upon such determination the poll books may be appropriately marked to indicate each elector's proper district.

It further states that separate ballots will be required when voting districts (Justice Court Districts in this case) split a particular precinct.

This procedure will allow the poll workers to quickly determine which ballot to give each elector appearing at the polls.

As noted in the Dobbs opinion, separate ballot boxes will not be required.

An alternative to the above outlined procedure is provided for in Mississippi Code Annotated 23-5-74 and -76 (Supp. 1983)

Section 23-5-74 provides:

"The commissioners of election and the registrars of the respective counties are hereby directed to make an administrative division of the poll- book for each county immediately following any reapportionment of the Mississippi Legislature or any realignment of supervisors districts, if necessary. Such an administrative division shall form subprecincts whenever necessary within each precinct so that all persons within a subprecinct shall vote on the same candidates for each public office. Separate pollbooks for each subprecinct shall be made. The polling place for all subpre- cincts within any given precinct shall be the same as the precinct. Additional managers may be appointed for subprecincts in the discretion of the commissioners of election or, in the case of primary elections, in the discretion of the proper executive committee."

Section 23-5-76 provides:

"The procedure to be used by the commissioners of election and the registrars to form subprecincts and to make subprecinct pollbooks shall be as follows, and in the following order:

"(a) Identify those subprecinct areas in each precinct, if any, where all persons within such subprecincts shall vote on the same candidates for each public office;

"(b) The portion of each precinct with the largest population shall retain the original precinct designation and those portions of each precinct with smaller populations shall be subprecincts and identified by the original precinct designation with the suffixes 'a', 'b', 'c', etcetera, for as many subprecincts as are formed for any given precinct;

"(c) The qualified electors residing in each subprecinct shall be identified; and

"(d) The names of the qualified electors so identified whose names appear on the original precinct pollbook shall be transferred to and placed upon the appropriate subprecinct poll- book, and a notation of such transfer shall be made opposite such names in the original precinct pollbook. Such electors so identified shall be notified by regular mail that they reside in a newly formed subprecinct; however, failure to give such notice shall not invalidate an otherwise valid election."

The above Code sections were passed by the Mississippi Legislature as a part of Chapter 24, Second Extraordinary Session, 1977.

Since Justice court districts were identical to supervisors districts at the time of passage of the above Code sections, it is the opinion of this office that the county election commissioners have full authority to create subprecincts following the realignment of Justice court districts if they determine, consistent with the facts, that it is necessary and further provided that the above statutory procedure is followed.

Very truly yours,

BILL ALLAIN, ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY Phillip C. Carter Special Assistant Attorney General

PCC:ls Enclosure