Mississippi Advisory Opinions June 08, 1984: 19840608 (June 08, 1984)

Advisory Opinion Text

Mrs. Maurine H. Bain

Clerk of the Circuit Court

Benton County

Post Office Box 262

Ashland, Mississippi 38603

Re: Primary Elections

Dear Mrs. Bain:

Attorney General Edwin Lloyd Pittman has received your opinion request and has assigned it to me for research and reply, your inquiry stating:

“I would like for you to render me an opinion relative to the primary elections and the responsibility of preparing the boxes, etc.

“Since I was elected in 1980 as Circuit Clerk, I have always done most of the work getting the ballot boxes, etc., ready for the small elections I have had during these years.

“After attending several seminars in Jackson, I found out by talking to other Clerks that they have always gotten paid for this extra work.

“During the county-wide election in 1983, I contacted the Chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of Benton County, Mississippi, about getting the materials and boxes ready and I got no response at all. Therefore, I worked all day on Saturdays and Sunday afternoons before each primary election to get the absentee ballots and materials in the respective boxes so that they could be picked up by noon on Monday before the election on Tuesday. I was never able to get Mr. Childers to come and sign the receipt book when the boxes were picked up.

“After the primary elections in August, 1983, when the county officials ran for office as well as district and state officials, I turned in a reasonable cost bill to the Board of Supervisors for extra work. They refused to pay me and said that it was part of my job.

“Since I did all of the work bringing up the boxes from the basement, emptying them and placing everything necessary inside, including a large number and list of absentee ballots. I also accounted for the boxcar seals and the signing of the receipt book by the Managers in the absence of the Chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee. I felt that I should have been paid for this extra work.

“ Mississippi Code 23-5-53, 1972, states that for assisting the Election Commissioners and the Executive Committee in extra duties, I should be paid. I attended three (3) meetings at night with the Executive Committee, worked all day several Saturdays and two (2) Sunday afternoons. I worked all day on August 2, 1983, all night that night and all day the following day. I also had 28 people from the Justice Department questioning me and having me to go to several precincts to check out some matters. I did the same in the Second Primary.

“My question is this:

“Whose responsibility is it to have the ballots printed, get the boxes filled with election materials, etc., for the primary elections? Also, if I assist the Executive Committee or do all of the work myself, shouldn't I be allowed $40.00 per day.

“Also, I would like to know if the Board of Supervisors are obligated to pay me for the cost bill that I presented after last year's primaries.

“P.S. I talked with several clerks after the election and I think I was the only one that did not get extra pay for the extra work. Some of these clerks suggested that I leave the boxes in the basement. I only have one part-time deputy who works 8 days a month and this is a lot of work for one person.”

Section 23-5-179, Mississippi Code of 1972, states in pertinent part:

“The boards of supervisors of the several counties are authorized to allow compensation of the officers rendering services in matters of registration and elections, to provide ballot boxes, registration and poll books, and all other things required by law in registration and elections. ...”

Section 23-5-53, ibid , which sets out the registrar's annual compensation entitlement also includes this language at paragraph (3) thereof:

“As compensation for their services in assisting the county election commissioners in performance of their duties in the revision of the registration books and the pollbooks of the several election districts of the several counties and in assisting the election commissioners, executive committees or boards of supervisors in connection with any election, the registrar shall receive the same daily per diem and limitation on meeting days as provided for the board of election commissioners as set out in sections 23-5-81 and 23-5-183, to be paid from the general fund of the county.”

Your duties as registrar are primarily to register voters. The conduct of party primaries and general elections are those of, respectively, the party executive committee(s) and the County Election Commission.

Section 23-5-97, ibid , also authorizes the Election Commission to employ, with the approval of the board of supervisors, “employees or persons... necessary to enable them to discharge (their duties).”

Section 23-5-119, ibid , specifies it to be the duty of the Chairman of the Election Commission to have printed all necessary ballots and Section 23-5-121 places on the Chairman the duty of distributing the official ballots. None of these statutes place the mechanics of preparing and conducting the election on the clerk.

And the clerk has no more responsibility in the primary than in the general election, the responsibility of preparing and conducting the former being that of the party executive committee rather than the Election Commission.

Anyone displeased with an action of the Board of Supervisors in approving or rejecting a claim may appeal from said order to the Circuit Court under Section 11-51-75, ibid .

Yours very truly,

Edwin Lloyd Pittman, Attorney General