Mississippi Advisory Opinions December 07, 1987: 19871207 (December 07, 1987)

Advisory Opinion Text

Honorable Phil Carter

Director of Elections

Secretary of State's Office

Post Office Box 136

Jackson, Mississippi 39205

Dear Mr. Carter:

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 letter is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. In your letter you ask three questions relating to absentee voting which will be addressed in the order below.

QUESTION NO. 1: Is an elector who votes an absentee ballot by virtue of a temporary or permanent physical disability required to have the Certificate of Attesting Witness on the back of the ballot envelope signed?

RESPONSE: It would appear that Miss.Code Ann. § 23-15-631 (Supp.1987) as well as Miss.Code Ann. § 23-15-721(2) (Supp.1987) are the controlling statutes. Since your letter of request was written, the Legislature has amended § 23-15-631 and removed that language which would appear to cause a conflict between the statutes. Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that an absent elector who is temporarily or permanently physically disabled may either have his ballot notarized before the proper officer or may have the certificate of attesting witness signed by a person eighteen years of age or older.

QUESTION NO. 2: Do the aforementioned opinions remain the opinion of the Attorney General insofar as the method by which absentee ballots voted by the physically incapacitated and those persons residing outside the county are to be returned to the Registrar's Office is concerned?

QUESTION NO. 3: May a person who votes an absentee ballot because he is age 65 or over personally deliver his ballot to the Registrar's Office if he so chooses?

RESPONSE TO QUESTION NO. 2 AND QUESTION NO. 3: Pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. § 23-15-715 (Supp.1986), [we refer here to the 1986 Supplement because this section is incorrectly set forth in the 1987 Supplement], it is the opinion of this office that there are only two methods by which persons may cast absentee ballots. Pursuant to § 23-15-715(a) electors may appear in person and vote by absentee ballot not more than fifteen days prior to the election. Pursuant to § 23-15-715(b) certain electors set forth therein may receive and cast his ballot by mail. This letter method is more fully described by § 23-15-721 . However, § 23-15-721 does not cover all those groups of individuals who may receive an absentee ballot by mail. In any event, it is the opinion of this office that any absent elector who receives an absentee ballot by mail must return his absentee ballot by mail.

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.

John H. Emfinger, Special Assistant Attorney General.