Mississippi Advisory Opinions June 29, 1989: 19890629 (June 29, 1989)

Advisory Opinion Text

Mr. R.M. Mathers

Chief Administrative Officer and City Clerk

City of Gulfport

Post Office Box 1780

Gulfport, MS 39502

RE: VOTER REGISTRATION

Dear Mr. Mathers:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your letter of request and has assigned it to me for research and reply. Your letter states the following matter for consideration:

“The employees who reside on the “Pride of Mississippi” cruise ship are requesting the city and county register them to vote. Please advise if the voting laws consider residency aboard the boat an acceptable qualification to be an elector of Harrison County.”

As you know, Miss.Code Ann. Sec. 23–15–11 (Supp.1988) sets forth the qualifications, including residency requirements, for voter registration. Residency, for electoral purposes, is not a function of the nature of an applicant's shelter, but is rather a function of whether the applicant permanently resides within the districts in which he offers to vote. This issue is a factual determination which must be made by the county election commission. Attached hereto, you will find a prior opinion of this office to Honorable Steven E. Farese dated March 2, 1983 which concludes a number of opinions and case citations which discuss at some length some of the issues that are to be considered when examining the residency question.

With warm personal regards, I am

Sincerely,

Samuel W. Keyes, Jr., Assistant Attorney General.

ATTACHMENT

February 28, 1983

Honorable Bill Allain

Attorney General

State of Mississippi

Post Office Box 220

Jackson, Mississippi 39205

In re: Request for Legal Opinion/ Section 37–5–73 Mississippi Code of 1972 Annotated

Dear Mr. Attorney General:

This letter is being written to request a written legal opinion with respect to certain aspects of the provisions of Section 37–5–73, Mississippi Code of 1972 Annotated. Specifically, it is an individual with the following set of factors qualified to be eligible to run for the Office of County Superintendent of Education. The factors are as follows:

(a) The individual has always voted at a voting box in the county in which he seeks office;

(b) The individual was physically absent from the State, having taught in other states, but always voted either by absentee ballot or by physically presenting himself to the election holders at that given box;

(c) The individual has a motor vehicle registration tag bearing the identification of the County in which he seeks public office;

(d) The individual considers himself a resident of the county in which he seeks office although he physically resides in a municipality in an adjoining county.

Deeply appreciative of your assistance in this matter and with all kind personal wishes, I remain

Very sincerely yours, Steven E. Farese

ATTACHMENT

March 2, 1983

Honorable Steven E. Farese

Attorney at Law

Post Office Box 98

Ashland, Mississippi 38603

Dear Mr. Farese:

Attorney General Allain has received your letter of request in which you seek assistance in determining whether a particular individual meets the residency requirements for holding the elective office of County Superintendent of Education as set forth in Mississippi Code Annotated § 37–5–73 (1972) .

According to the provisions of Section 7–5–25, the Attorney General has not been authorized by the Legislature to render official opinions to anyone other than certain designated state and local officials and to them only concerning the duties of their respective offices.

However, in an effort to assist you, we are enclosing a copy of an opinion addressed to Honorable Bernard Handy, dated July 29, 1981, which states that the residence qualification is a factual determination to be made by the county election commission. Guidelines to assist said commission (or executive committee) in making such determination are set forth in that opinion.

We hope this letter constitutes a satisfactory response to your inquiry.

Very truly yours,

Bill Allain Attorney General.

Phillip C. Carter Special Assistant Attorney General.