Bill Text: MS HB1023 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Vacancies for county and county district office; clarify who may be appointed to.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2013-02-05 - Died In Committee [HB1023 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2013-HB1023-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2013 Regular Session
To: Apportionment and Elections
By: Representatives Banks, Calhoun
House Bill 1023
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-839, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THAT ANY PERSON APPOINTED TO FILL A VACANCY FOR ANY COUNTY OR COUNTY DISTRICT OFFICE SHALL BE A RESIDENT AND QUALIFIED ELECTOR OF THE COUNTY OR COUNTY DISTRICT, AS APPLICABLE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 23-15-839, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-839. (1) When a vacancy shall occur in any county or county district office, the same shall be filled by appointment by the board of supervisors of the county, by order entered upon its minutes, where the vacancy occurs, or by appointment of the president of the board of supervisors, by and with the consent of the majority of the board of supervisors, if such vacancy occurs when said board is not in session, and the clerk of the board shall certify to the Secretary of State the fact of the appointment, and the person so appointed shall be commissioned by the Governor; and if the unexpired term be longer than six (6) months, such appointee shall serve until a successor is elected as hereinafter provided, unless the regular special election day on which the vacancy should be filled occurs in a year in which an election would normally be held for that office as provided by law, in which case the person so appointed shall serve the unexpired portion of the term. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy under the authority of this section shall be a resident and qualified elector of the county, if such person is appointed to a county office, or the applicable county district, if such person is appointed to a county district office. Such vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term by the qualified electors at the next regular special election day occurring more than ninety (90) days after the occurrence of the vacancy. The board of supervisors of the county shall, within ten (10) days after the happening of the vacancy, make an order, in writing, directed to the commissioners of election, commanding an election to be held on the next regular special election day to fill the vacancy. The election commissioners shall require each candidate to qualify at least sixty (60) days before the date of the election, and shall give a certificate of election to the person elected, and shall return to the Secretary of State a copy of the order of holding the election, showing the results thereof, certified by the clerk of the board of supervisors. The person elected shall be commissioned by the Governor.
(2) In any election ordered pursuant to this section where only one (1) person shall have qualified with the commissioners of election to be a candidate within the time provided by law, the commissioners of election shall certify to the board of supervisors that there is but one (1) candidate. Thereupon, the board of supervisors shall dispense with the election and shall appoint the candidate so certified to fill the unexpired term. The clerk of the board shall certify to the Secretary of State the candidate so appointed to serve in said office and that candidate shall be commissioned by the Governor. In the event that no person shall have qualified by 5:00 p.m. sixty (60) days prior to the date of the election, the commissioners of election shall certify that fact to the board of supervisors which shall dispense with the election and fill the vacancy by appointment. The clerk of the board of supervisors shall certify to the Secretary of State the fact of the appointment, and the person so appointed shall be commissioned by the Governor.
SECTION 2. The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall submit this act, immediately upon approval by the Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the date it is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.
