Mississippi Advisory Opinions November 15, 2010: No. 2010-00604 (November 15, 2010)

No. 2010-00604.

Dear Mr. Ramsay:

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

You ask whether certain clerical personnel of the City of Gautier who are not deputy city clerks but have been appointed deputy county registrars of voters by the county circuit clerk are allowed to register voters for municipal purposes. We understand that these individuals were appointed at the request of the municipality.

The registration of voters by deputy county registrars - even though they are not deputy municipal clerks - are registrations as county voters which, as a matter of law, will also register them as municipal voters if they are residents of a municipality within the county.

Mississippi Code Annotated Section 23-15-223 (Supp. 2010) provides in part

The State Board of Election Commissioners, on or before the fifteenth day of February succeeding each general election, shall appoint in the several counties registrars of election, who shall hold office for four (4) years and until their successors shall be duly qualified. The registrar is empowered to appoint deputy registrars, with the consent of the board of election commissioners, who may discharge the duties of the registrar.

Section 23-15-211 provides, inter alia , that there shall be "a board of election commissioners in each county to consist of five (5) persons who are electors in the county in which they are to act; and a registrar in each county who shall be the clerk of the circuit court, unless he shall be shown to be an improper person to register the names of the electors therein."

There has been some confusion as to whether the state board of election commissioners or the appropriate county board of election commissioners must consent to the appointment of deputy county registrars. Section 23-15-223 does not specifically state which board of election commissioners is to consent to the appointment of deputy county registrars. We read Section 23-15-223 to require that the appointment of local deputy county registrars be with the consent of the appropriate county board of election commissioners as opposed to the state board of election commissioners. The local county boards of election commissioners are in a much better position to make determinations on the qualifications of local deputy registrars than the state board of election commissioners. We are of the opinion that the appointment of deputy county registrars is a local matter to be made by the local officials, namely the appropriate county registrar with the consent of the county board of election commissioners. The approval of such appointments by the state board of election commissioners is, in our opinion, not required. Therefore, to the extent that our opinion to The Honorable Barbara Dunn, dated October 16, 1984 is in conflict with this opinion, it is hereby modified to conform herewith.

Section 23-15-39 prescribes the procedure for registering voters. It provides in part:

***

(3) If the applicant indicates on the application that he resides within the city limits of a city or town in the county of registration, the county registrar shall process the application for registration or changes to the registration as provided by law.

***

(5) The county registrar shall provide to the person making the application a copy of the application upon which has been written the county voting precinct and municipal voting precinct, if any, in which the person shall vote. Upon entry of the voter registration information into the Statewide Elections Management System, the system shall assign a voter registration number to the person.

Upon the request of the municipal governing authorities, certain municipal employees who need not be deputy municipal clerks may be appointed deputy county registrars by the county registrar (circuit clerk) with the consent of the county board of election commissioners. As deputy county registrars they would be authorized to register applicants as county voters and any such registrants who are residents of a municipality within the county will be registered as municipal voters.

Sincerely,

JIM HOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By:

Phil Carter

Special Assistant Attorney General