Mississippi Advisory Opinions March 21, 1990: AGO 000007401 (March 21, 1990)

AGO 000007401.

Dear Mr. Horton:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your letter of request and has assigned it to me for research and reply. You preface your request by stating that the voter registration list in Winston County is on computer and that the pollbooks are computer printouts. Your letter presents five (5) questions regarding voter registration and revision of the pollbooks. We will address each question individually.

QUESTION NO. 1: Is it the exclusive responsibility of the Registrar or his duly appointed deputy to take applications for registration to vote, to determine applicants' supervisors districts and precincts and to enter this data into the computer? Also, is it the same responsibility of the Registrar or his deputy to take transfers of registered voters and determine their district and precinct for their new address and enter same into the computer upon personally appearing and requesting said move?

RESPONSE: Mississippi Code Annotated 23-15-33 (Supp. 1989) provides:

"Every person entitled to be registered as an elector in compliance with the laws of this state and who has signed his name on the application for registration to vote shall be registered by the registrar on the registration books of the voting precinct of the residence of such person."

In response to the first part of your question, the above quoted statute provides that the registration of voters and the determination of each individual's precinct is the exclusive function of the registrar. It is our opinion that if a precinct is split by the supervisor district lines it would also be the registrar's duty to make the determination, upon registration, of the proper supervisor district for each individual residing in said precinct. A duly appointed deputy registrar may, of course, perform these tasks for the registrar.

In response to the second part of your question section 23-15-13 provides:

"An elector who moves from one ward or voting precinct to another .... voting precinct within the same supervisors district shall not be disqualified to vote, but he shall be entitled to have his registration transferred to his new ... voting precinct upon making written request therefor at any time up to thirty (30) days prior to the election at which he offers to vote, and if the removal occurs within thirty (30) days of such election he shall be entitled to vote in his new ...voting precinct by affidavit ballot ...."

Although the above quoted statute does not specify, it is the opinion of this office that it is the duty and responsibility of the registrar, upon request of an individual voter, to make the necessary changes on all appropriate registration records and enter the appropriate data into the computer to reflect any change in a voter's precinct necessitated by a change in that voter's residence. However, the task of making the changes on the pollbooks and registration books is, in our opinion, a ministerial task that should be performed by the election commission in their purging activities if the registrar fails to act. If such changes are made by the election commission on the registration records (computer printouts) the registrar must enter the appropriate data into the computer to reflect such changes.

QUESTION NO. 2: Is it the exclusive responsibility and duty of the registrar or his duly appointed deputy to enter data into the computer to reflect the changes on pollbooks made by the election commissioners in their purging activities?

RESPONSE: Please see the enclosed copy of an opinion addressed to Honorable Jay Gore, Jr., dated July 12, 1989. In Gore we stated that, in our opinion, the pollbooks consist of printed pages. Those printed pages must contain the appropriate columns as prescribed by section 23-15-125 which specifically requires that each page contain "a number of blank columns for the dates of elections". In our opinion, the election commission must work with the pollbooks which in your county is a computer printout. As stated in Gore, it is our opinion that the registrar is required to delete the names of individuals from the computer in accordance with the determinations made by the commission. It is imperative that the registrar perform this duty to insure that when all the aforementioned columns are full and it becomes necessary to prepared new pollbooks, the computer printout (pollbooks) will be accurate. In direct response to your question, it is our opinion that the registrar or someone duly authorized by him does have the exclusive responsibility to enter this data into the computer. In support of this conclusion we would invite your attention to section 23-15-127 which specifies that "it shall be the duty of registrar of the county...to prepare and furnish to the appropriate election commissioner pollbooks for each voting precinct..." While this particular code section is referring to primary election pollbooks, it is our opinion that this provision is applicable to the pollbooks used in general and special elections as well.

QUESTION NO. 3: What are the duties and responsibilities of the registrar and/or his duly appointed deputies in assisting the election commissioners in their duties of purging and other activities of the pollbook and registration books?

RESPONSE: Section 23-15-161 provides:

"The registrar shall attend the meetings of the commissioners, and shall furnish them the registration books and the pollbooks, and shall render them all needed assistance of which he is capable in the performance of their duties in revising the list of qualified electors."

In addition to the above statutory duties we have already mentioned the importance of the entry of the appropriate data into the computer to insure the accuracy of the pollbooks. The phrase "all needed assistance of which he is capable" is, in our opinion, intended to encourage cooperation between the registrar and the election commissioners to insure that the registration books and pollbooks contain only the names of those individuals who meet the statutory requirements of a qualified elector.

Also, as previously mentioned, the registrar is required to prepare the pollbooks for use by the commissioners. Also, section 21-15-129 requires the registrar and the election commissioners to make an administrative division of the pollbooks following reapportionment or redistricting and to form subprecincts when necessary to insure that all persons within a subprecinct will vote on the same candidates for each public office. This is a general statement on the duties of the registrar assisting the commissioners and is not intended to be a complete listing of such duties.

QUESTION NO. 4: Should be board of supervisors enter an order approving the employment of an individual selected by the election commissioners for the specific purpose of entering data into the computer pertaining to registration and/or purging activities of the election commissioners would this require me as registrar to allow that individual access to my computer terminal to perform these tasks? Further, would this order relieve me of any duty to enter this data on my computer?

RESPONSE: As previously stated, it is the opinion of this office that it is the exclusive duty and responsibility of the registrar or one duly authorized by the registrar to enter the appropriate data into the computer to reflect the necessary changes to the registration books and pollbooks. Such an order, in our opinion would not relieve you of this duty.

QUESTION NO. 5: Can the registrar authorize someone other than a duly appointed deputy registrar to enter data into the computer?

RESPONSE: It is the opinion of this office that the entry of data into the computer is a ministerial task that may be performed by any capable person authorized by the registrar to perform such task.

Sincerely,

MIKE MOORE ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: Phil Carter Special Assistant Attorney General

PC:mfd Enclosure