Mississippi Advisory Opinions November 16, 1989: AGO 000007310 (November 16, 1989)

AGO 000007310.

Senator Cy Rosenblatt Mississippi State Senate 4126 Navajo Road Jackson, Mississippi 39211

Dear Senator Rosenblatt:

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

Your letter states:

"Enclosed please find a copy of Section 41, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, which prescribes qualifications for becoming a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives. This section states, in part, that "No person shall be a member of the House of Representatives ... who shall not have been a resident citizen ... within the district such person seeks to serve for two (2) years, immediately preceding his election."

I am requesting an opinion of the Attorney General regarding the meaning of this provision. Must a person have lived in his district two (2) years preceding (a) the date he files his petition to run for office; or (b) the date of the first primary; or (c) the date of the general or special election; or (d) the date of any necessary runoff election; or (e) the date he takes the oath of office? I feel that the reasonable interpretation is (c), that is, two (2) years preceding the date of the general or special election, as opposed to the other possible interpretations."

It has long been the position of this office that a candidate must meet all qualifications at the time he or she is actually elected to office. Please see the enclosed copy of an opinion addressed to Mrs. Lorena Dean, dated September 20, 1979.

Clearly, one is not elected to office in a primary, even if he or she is unopposed in the general election. A primary only determines a particular political party's nominee who, even if unopposed, must be formally elected in the general election.

Therefore, we agree with your conclusion that in order for one to be a candidate for a seat in the Mississippi House of Representatives he or she must have been a resident of the district they are seeking to serve for two (2) years immediately prior to the general or special election in which a representative will be elected.

Sincerely,

MIKE MOORE ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: Phil Carter Special Assistant Attorney General

PC:mfd Enclosure