Mississippi Advisory Opinions February 28, 1984: AGO 000004058 (February 28, 1984)

AGO 000004058.

Dear Ms. Flint:

Attorney General Edwin Lloyd Pittman has received your letter and has assigned it to me for reply. In your letter you state:

"The Lowndes County Election Commission would like to know if it would be possible for Election Commissioners to run in the November General Election on a non- partisan basis and only run in the General Election rather than appear on a primary ballot."

It is assumed that you are referring to candidacy of members of the county board of election commission for the office of county election commissioner and no other office. 23-5-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, Annotated and amended, provides for the manner of qualifying as a candidate for county election commissioner and the election of such officials. A reference to this Code section reveals that candidates for county election commission " . . . qualify by filing with the clerk of the board of supervisors of their respective counties a petition properly signed by not less than fifty (50) qualified electors of the supervisors' district in which they reside, requesting that they be a candidate, not less than sixty (60) days before the election and unless such petition is filed within said time, their names shall not be placed upon the ballot. All candidates shall declare in writing their party affiliation, if any, to the board of supervisors, and such affiliation shall be shown on the official ballot.

"The petition shall have attached thereto a certificate of the registrar showing the number of qualified electors on each petition which shall be furnished by the registrar on request."

Also, this statute provides that county election commissioners shall be elected at the general election in 1984 and provides for no primary election.

Very truly yours,

EDWIN LLOYD PITTMAN, ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:

Larry J. Stroud Special Assistant Attorney General

LJS:cm