Mississippi Advisory Opinions May 24, 1984: AGO 000004536 (May 24, 1984)
Collection: Mississippi Attorney General Opinions
Docket: AGO 000004536
Date: May 24, 1984
Advisory Opinion Text
AGO 000004536.
DOCK 1984
AUTH Richard M. Allen
DATE 19840524
RQNM Ruth Dixon
SUBJ Elections-Commissioners ; Elections-Primary ; Elections- Special ; Elections-General
SBCD 64 ; 70 ; 75 ; 67
TEXT Mrs. Ruth Dixon
Circuit Clerk, Amite County
Post Office Box 312
Liberty, Mississippi 39845
Dear Mrs. Dixon:
Attorney General Edwin Lloyd Pittman has received your opinion request and has assigned it to me for research and reply, your letter stating:
"On May 1, 1984, U. S. District Judge Dan M. Russell. Jr., signed an order directing the Supervisors and Constables Election in Amite County, Mississippi. July 10 and 14, first and second primaries, and August 7, special general election, a copy of which is enclosed herewith.
"The Election Commissioners met today and, after receiving an order from the Board of Supervisors directing the Election Commission to hold special elections for the Offices of Supervisors, Constables and Justice Court Judges, gave Notice of Special Elections.
"The Election Commissioners and I would like to know, if a person was a candidate for another office in our August Primaries of 1983 and was defeated, can this same person qualify and run for Supervisor or another office in the Special July primaries, with the General Election on August 7th?
"Also, is the Independent Candidate for the General Election on August 7th, the only candidate that will be required to qualify by petition? It is our understanding that persons qualifying as either a Democratic or Republican candidate will follow the same procedure as in our August 1983 primaries."
If a candidate were eliminated in any 1983 county election for an office other than one for which the federal court ordered "special" election has been called, then he or she would not be eligible to be a candidate in the primaries and election directed by the court order.
It would appear, also, that independent candidates would be the only ones required to qualify by petition (See Section 23-5-34, Mississippi Code of 1972) with party candidates following the same procedure (consistent with the federal court order) as in the August, 1983, primaries.
Yours very truly,
EDWIN LLOYD PITTMAN, ATTORNEY GENERAL
BY:
Richard M. Allen Special Assistant Attorney General
RMA:hs