Mississippi Advisory Opinions March 27, 2015: AGO 2015-00061 (March 27, 2015)

Advisory Opinion Text

AUTH: Liz Bolin

RQNM: Connie Cochran

SUBJ: Elections - Ballots

SBCD: 63-A

TEXT: Mrs. Connie Cochran

Chair, Hinds County Election Commission

P.O. Box 946

Jackson, MS 39205-0946

Re: Percentage of ballots to be printed

Dear Mrs. Cochran:

Attorney General Hood is in receipt of your request for an official opinion and it has been assigned to me for research and reply.

Background and Question Presented

Your letter states in part:

I hereby request an Official Opinion/Clarification regarding the percentage of ballots to be printed.

Mississippi Code Annotated Section 23-15-513, Section 2 states "For each primary or general election, the number of official ballots that shall be printed shall be a number that is equal to not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the registered voters eligible to vote in the election."

My question is this: In the case of the primary elections, does this mean ballots must be printed for 75% of the registered voters for the Democratic Party, as well as 75% printed for the Republican Party?

Applicable Law and Analysis

Mississippi Code Section 23-15-501 et seq. describes the use of optical mark reading equipment (OMR) in the conduct of elections. Section 23-15-513(2) specifically addresses the number of ballots required to be printed by counties utilizing OMR equipment and states in part:

(2) For each primary or general election the number of official ballots that shall be printed shall be a number that is equal to not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the registered voters eligible to vote in the election.

Conclusion

In response to your question, it is the duty of the county party executive committees to have ballots printed in an amount not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the registered voters eligible to vote in each primary. Accordingly, the number of ballots printed for the Democratic Primary must be at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the registered voters in the county, and the same number must be printed for the Republican Primary.

Please let us know if this office can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

JIM HOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL.

Elizabeth S. Bolin, Special Assistant Attorney General.