Mississippi Advisory Opinions June 19, 1987: AGO 000007956 (June 19, 1987)

AGO 000007956.

Dear Mr. Martin:

Attorney General Edwin Lloyd Pittman has received your letter of request and has assigned it to me for research and reply. A copy of your request is attached hereto and is incorporated herein by reference. The central issue raised by your request is whether a candidate, who mails the required documents and fees to the State Executive Committee prior to the qualifying deadline, as evidenced by the postmark on the envelope, is legally qualified to have his name placed on the ballot for the primary election if the documents and fees are not actually received by the State Executive Committee until after the qualifying deadline has passed.

In your letter you state as follows:

It has been the past practice of the Mississippi Democratic Party to accept all fees and accompanying statements which were postmarked by the deadline. At the June 6, 1987 meeting of the Executive Committee of the Mississippi Democratic Party, the committee voted to affirm "the mailbox rule" by which such fees would be considered paid at the time which they are posted.

Subsequently, we have been questioned for having certified candidates whose fees were mailed on Thursday, June 4, and Friday, June 5 when such fees were not in our office until June 6 or June 8

It would appear from the above information and from our subsequent telephone conversation that the Mississippi State Democratic Executive Committee has already ruled on this question, has certified the candidates involved and has had the sample ballots printed. We would also note that your request was not received by this office until the day the State Executive Committee was required to furnish a sample of the official ballot to each county executive committee. See, Miss. Code Ann. 23-15-331 (Supp. 1986; Special Pamphlet). Pursuant to 7-5-25, our office is prohibited from rendering official opinions on questions of law related to past actions since those actions may only be validated or invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction. Accordingly, we are not able to render an official opinion in response to your request.

The following is for your information and is not intended to constitute an official opinion of this office.

According to Miss. Code Ann. 23-15-299(1) (Supp. 1986; Special Pamphlet) the appropriate assessments and documents must be paid by each candidate by 5:00 p.m. sixty (60) days before the date fixed by law for the primary election to the Secretary of the State Executive Committee with which the candidate is affiliated." We note that this statute does not appear to provide for any extension of the time within which such payments must be made.

Should you have any questions or if we may be of further assistance please do not hesitate to contact this office.

Sincerely,

EDWIN LLOYD PITTMAN, ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:

John H. Emfinger

Special Assistant Attorney General JHE:mfd