Mississippi Advisory Opinions March 28, 1985: 19850328 (March 28, 1985)

Advisory Opinion Text

Mrs. Sue Sautermeister

Member

Hinds County Election Commission

Post Office Box 327

Jackson, Mississippi 39205

Dear Mrs. Sautermeister:

Attorney General Edwin Lloyd Pittman has received your opinion request and assigned it to me for research and reply, your letter, referring to Ch. 465, Laws of 1984, codified as amendments to §§ 23-5-197, -203 and -233, Mississippi Code of 1972 (the new special election statutes), asks:

“...If an election were not to be held on the designated regular special election day in November because there was no election, does this mean that we election commissioners would be authorized to purge in September anyway? If so, would it be for 10 days or based upon county's number of registered voters?

“With one stop registration, do we county election commissioners purge prior to this summer's municipal elections? If so, for how many days?”

In this office's opinions, the answer to both of your questions is, “No.”

§ 23-5-79, ibid , copy attached, states in pertinent part:

“(1) On the first Monday of September preceding a general election and ten (10) days before any other, the commissioners of election shall meet at the office of the registrar and carefully revise the registration books and the pollbooks of the several election districts, etc.”

§§ 23-5-197, -203 and -233, supra , introduced a new phrase, “regular special election day”; and a “special election day” is “any other” election under § 23-5-79. Also, the county election commission has no authority or responsibility in municipal elections.

Yours very truly,

Edwin Lloyd Pittman, Attorney General.