Mississippi Advisory Opinions August 25, 1989: 19890825 (August 25, 1989)

Advisory Opinion Text

Mrs. Edwina Stringer

Harrison County Election Commission

Post Office Drawer CC

Gulfport, Mississippi 39501

Dear Mrs. Stringer:

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

“On behalf of the Harrison County Election Commission, I hereby submit the following question to you for your opinion.

Code section 23–15–15 states that a naturalized citizen must present or exhibit to the Circuit Clerk of the county of his or her residence a certified copy of a final order or decree of naturalization, etc. before being allowed to register to vote.

Does this section mean that the prospective registrant must present those documents to the Circuit Clerk in person, or can they be presented to a deputy clerk in his office or at one of the city halls?”

Mississippi Code Annotated § 23–15–15 (Supp.1988) provides:

“It shall be the duty of any and every person who has acquired citizenship by order or decree of naturalization and who is otherwise qualified to register and vote under the laws of the State of Mississippi to present or exhibit to the circuit clerk of the county of his or her residence, at or before the time he or she may offer to register, a certified copy of the final order or decree of naturalization, or a certificate of naturalization or duplicate thereof, or a certified copy of such certificate of naturalization or duplicate; otherwise he shall not be allowed to register or to vote.”

In response to your inquiry, deputy county registrars including clerks of municipalities have the same authority to register voters as the registrar. Therefore a naturalized citizen could present the documentation required by section 23–15–15 to any deputy county registrar and become a legally registered voter assuming, of course, that he or she possesses all other qualifications required by law.

Sincerely,

Mike Moore, Attorney General.