Mississippi Advisory Opinions October 06, 1983: 19831006 (October 06, 1983)

Advisory Opinion Text

Honorable Sibly S. Flint

Lowndes County Election Commission

Post Office Box 127

Columbus, Mississippi 39701

Re: Elections - Commission

Dear Mrs. Flint:

Attorney General Allain has received your letter of request and has assigned it to me for research and reply.

Your letter states:

“Two of the members of our Lowndes County Election Commission will not be able to help in purging the poll books as one has taken full time employment and the other has eye trouble.

“Our Board of Supervisors is willing to pay the other three members of the Commission for thirty three days which would cost the county no more than all five members working twenty days each. Due to the re-registration, the purging is taking much longer this year than is usual.

“In your opinion would it be legal for the three of us to exceed the twenty days allowed to purge?”

Mississippi Code Annotated §§ 23-5-79, -80 and -81 (Supp. 1983) govern the number of days commissioners of election may meet to revise the registration books and poll books prior to elections and at the annual meeting on the Tuesday after the third Monday in March.

We note that Mississippi Code Annotated § 3239 (1942) which required election commissioners to meet on the first Monday of October preceding a general election, and fifteen (15) days before any special election was repealed by Chapter 423, Laws of 1983.

We understand that Lowndes County has approximately 21, 100 qualified electors.

Section 23-5-79 provides in 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, and shall erase therefrom the names of all persons erroneously thereon, or who have died, removed or become disqualified as electors from any cause; and shall register the names of all persons who have duly applied to be registered and have been illegally denied registration.

“The commissioners of election shall receive the compensation as provided herein for every day actually employed in the performance of their duties for the necessary time spent in the revision of the registration books and pollbooks:

In counties having twenty thousand (20, 000) qualified electors but less than fifty thousand (50, 000) qualified electors, the commissioners of election shall be entitled to receive a per diem as provided in section 25-3-69, not to exceed twenty (20) days, to be paid from the general fund of the county.

(2) The board of supervisors of any county may, by order, allow the commissioners of election of such county to meet an additional day each month for the purpose provided for in subsection (1) of this section. Such commissioners shall be entitled to receive a per diem as provided in section 25-3-69, to be paid from the general fund of the county.”

In response to your inquiry, the Lowndes County Election Commissioners may be paid for every day actually employed in the performance of their duties as prescribed by Section 23-5-79, not to exceed twenty (20) days, plus an additional day each month if so ordered by the board of supervisors.

We point out that a “day” for the purposes of the above statutes is a period of eight (8) hours actually engaged in the performance of duties and that it is for the board of supervisors to determine what compensation may be paid an election commissioner who was engaged in the performance of his duties for a lesser period of time.

Very truly yours,

Bill Allain Attorney General