Mississippi Advisory Opinions February 23, 1996: AGO 96-0084 (February 23, 1996)

Advisory Opinion Text

Hon. James Patterson Donald

Attorney for the City of Morton

Post Office Box 491

Morton, Mississippi 39117

Re: Special Election

Dear Mr. Donald:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your request for an official opinion of this office and has assigned it to me for a reply. Your letter has been attached for reference. The questions you pose are as follows:

1. In a special election to fill a vacancy in the position of Alderman for a particular ward (as opposed to 'at large'), how many electors must sign the qualifying petition of a candidate? Assume that the population of the ward is 650 persons and the population of the City is 3, 500 persons.

2. What is the residency requirement of an elector who signs the qualifying petition of the candidate? Does the signing elector have to reside in the ward in which there is the vacancy or may the elector simply reside in the corporate limits of the municipality where the Alderman vacancy exists?

In response to your first question, in our prior opinion to Hon. Charles C. Pearce, dated December 18, 1991, attached, we stated that if the population of a particular ward is less than one thousand (1, 000), a candidate for the board of alderman from that ward would only be required to have the signatures of fifteen (15) qualified electors of that ward on his or her qualifying petition.

Regarding your second question, it is the opinion of this office that the electors who sign the qualifying petition for a candidate must be qualified electors of the ward for which the petitioner is a candidate. See MS AG Op., Barbour (February 1, 1982), attached.

If this office can be of any further assistance, please let us know.

Very truly yours,

Mike Moore, Attorney General.

Sandra M. Shelson, Special Assistant Attorney General.