Mississippi Advisory Opinions July 10, 1991: 19910710 (July 10, 1991)

Advisory Opinion Text

Honorable Neola Hutto

Election Commissioner

Post Office Box 428

Waynesboro, Mississippi 39367

Dear Ms. Hutto:

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

“Is it legal to purge names of known persons who have moved from the county but has not signed a cancellation form or registered in another county or state?”

Mississippi Code Annotated § 23-15-153 (1972) provides in part:

“(1) At the following times the commissioners of election shall meet at the office of the registrar and carefully revise the registration books and the pollbooks of the several voting precincts, and shall erase therefrom the names of all persons erroneously thereon, or who have died, removed or become disqualified as electors from any cause; ....” (emphasis added)

In response to your inquiry, once a county election commission has made the factual determination that a voter has “removed” himself from his county of registration, said commission has the statutory duty and obligation to remove that voter's name from the registration books and pollbooks regardless of whether he has signed a cancellation form or registered in another county or state. In making these factual determinations as to residency, the guidelines set forth in the attached opinion addressed to Ms. Essie Conaway, et al., dated September 20, 1989 should be followed.

Sincerely,

Mike Moore, Attorney General

Phil Carter, Special Assistant Attorney General