Billy F. Collins

*1 I am enclosing two pages of our City Charter of Council-Mayor form of government. In 1980, 84, 88, and 92, I ran for councilman along party lines as a Democrat with a second primary and then the general election. Since then all candidates have qualified as independents, not having primary elections. Our next municipal general election is May 2, 2016.

*1 Questions: 1. Can candidates qualify as Democrat or Republican and have party elections in April 2016? 2. What are the instructions and procedures for qualifying along party lines? 3. The general election will be May 2, 2016 by Charter. If (3) three or more candidates qualify for the general election, is the candidate with the most votes declared the winner or is there a runoff? Is there a runoff if [no] candidate receives the majority of votes?

*2 Provided, however, that in municipalities operating under a special or private charter which fixes a time for holding elections, other than the time fixed by Chapter 491, Laws of 1950, the first primary election shall be held exactly four (4) weeks before the time for holding the general election, as fixed by the charter, and the second primary election, where necessary, shall be held two (2) weeks after the first primary election, unless the charter of any such municipality provides otherwise, in which event the provisions of the special or private charter shall prevail as to the time of holding such primary elections.

*2 It is a political party's responsibility to decide if it will conduct a municipal primary prior to the general election. If there is no lawfully elected municipal party executive committee in place, there are two ways that the appropriate county executive committee can establish a temporary executive committee to conduct a primary. Pursuant to Section 23-15-313(1) the chairman of a county executive committee may, upon petition of five (5) or more “members of that political faith,” call a mass meeting of the municipal qualified electors of their political faith who may then select a temporary municipal executive committee. Alternatively, pursuant to Section 23-15-313(2) the county party executive committee may serve as the temporary municipal executive committee.

*2 Section 23-15-309 provides, in part:

*2 (1) Nominations for all municipal officers which are elective shall be made at a primary election, or elections, to be held in the manner prescribed by law. All persons desiring to be candidates for the nomination in the primary elections shall first pay Ten Dollars ($10.00) to the clerk of the municipality, at least sixty (60) days prior to the first primary election, no later than 5:00 p.m. on such deadline day.

*2 (2) The fee paid pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall be accompanied by a written statement containing the name and address of the candidate, the party with which he is affiliated, and the office for which he is a candidate.

*3 (3) The clerk shall promptly receipt the payment, stating the office for which the person making the payment is running and the political party with which such person is affiliated. The clerk shall keep an itemized account in detail showing the time and date of the receipt of such payment received by him, from whom such payment was received, the party with which such person is affiliated and for what office the person paying the fee is a candidate. The clerk shall promptly supply all necessary information and pay over all fees so received to the secretary of the proper municipal executive committee. Such funds may be used and disbursed in the same manner as is allowed in Section 23-15-299 in regard to other executive committees. (Emphasis added)

*3 If there is no municipal party executive committee in place when potential candidates file their statements of intent and pay their filing fees, municipal clerks cannot comply with the statutory requirement that they “promptly” supply such fees and information to a “proper municipal executive committee.”

*3 We have previously said:

*3 Section 23-15-309 sets forth the procedure for qualifying as a candidate in a municipal primary. Paragraph (3) of that code section requires the municipal clerk to “promptly supply all necessary information and pay over all fees so received to the secretary of the proper municipal executive committee.” Therefore, a party executive committee must be in place on the qualifying deadline so the municipal clerk can “promptly” turn the fees and statements of intent over to said committee. MS AG Op., Howell (February 28, 2001).

*3 Section 23-15-309 clearly contemplates that a municipal party executive committee be in place at the time a potential candidate files his statement of intent and pays the filing fee. However, if a clerk has accepted one or more potential candidate's statement of intent and filing fee at a time when no committee is in place and a legitimate temporary committee is subsequently formed in accordance with Sections 23-15-313 and -315 prior to the qualifying deadline, we are of the opinion that said temporary committee could proceed to review the potential candidates' qualifications and conduct a party primary and/or certify unopposed candidates as the party's nominees. MS AG Op., Bowman (March 16, 2001).

*3 Section 23-15-313 provides, in part:

*3 (1) If there be any political party, or parties, in any municipality which shall not have a party executive committee for such municipality, such political party, or parties, shall within thirty (30) days of the date for which a candidate for a municipal office is required to qualify in that municipality select qualified electors of that municipality and of that party's political faith to serve on a temporary municipal executive committee until members of a municipal executive committee are elected at the next regular election for executive committees. The temporary municipal executive committee shall be selected in the following manner: The chairman of the county executive committee of the party desiring to select a temporary municipal executive committee shall call, upon petition of five (5) or more members of that political faith, a mass meeting of the qualified electors of their political faith who reside in such municipality to meet at some convenient place within such municipality, at a time to be designated in the call, and at such mass convention the members of that political faith shall select a temporary municipal executive committee which shall serve until members of a municipal executive committee are elected at the next regular election for executive committees. The public shall be given notice of such mass meeting as provided in Section 23-15-315. The chairman of the county executive committee shall authorize the call within five (5) calendar days of receipt of the petition. If the chairman of the county executive committee is either incapacitated, unavailable or non-responsive and does not authorize the mass call within five (5) calendar days of receipt of the petition, any elected officer of the county executive committee may authorize the call within five (5) calendar days. If no elected officer of the county executive committee acts to approve such petition after an additional five (5) calendar days from the date, the chair of the county executive committee not taking action as provided by this section, the petitioners shall be authorized to produce the call themselves.

*4 (2) If no municipal executive committee is selected or otherwise formed before an election, the county executive committee may serve as the temporary municipal executive committee and exercise all of the duties of the municipal executive committee for the municipal election. After a county executive committee has fulfilled its duties as the temporary municipal executive committee, as soon as practicable thereafter, the county executive committee shall select a municipal executive committee no later than before the next municipal election. (Emphasis added).

*4 While Paragraph (2) of Section 23-15-313 was added subsequent to the issuance of Howell and Bowman and provides that the appropriate county party executive committee may act as the temporary municipal party executive committee, we remain of the opinion that a legitimate committee must be in place prior to the qualifying deadline.

*4 It is our opinion that the phrase “before an election” means that a county executive committee must assume the duties of serving as the temporary municipal committee prior to all critical stages of conducting a municipal primary e.g. the printing of the ballots, the appointment and training of pollworkers and the deadline for candidates to file their statements of intent and pay the filing fees. Obviously, if that phrase is interpreted to mean before election day, it would lead to the absurd conclusion that a county executive committee could announce the day before a primary that it will act as the temporary municipal executive committee. This would be totally unworkable if two or more individuals had filed their statements of intent and paid their filing fees for the same office prior to the qualifying deadline when no legitimate committee was in place. It would be impossible to conduct the primary with no ballots and no trained pollworkers to conduct the primary.

*4 In support of that conclusion, we note that in statutory construction one should not adopt a construction that will result in an absurdity or inequity. Quitman County v. Turner, 196 Miss. 746, 18 So.2d 122 (Miss. 1944). The construction of a statute which will be more beneficial and avoid objectionable consequences should be adopted. McCaffery's Food Market v. Mississippi Milk Commission, 227 So.2d 459 (Miss. 1969). One should give consideration to the purpose and policy the legislature had in view when it adopted the law. Aikerson v. State, 274 So.2d 124 (Miss. 1973); Brady v. John Hancock Life Insurance, 342 So.2d 295 (Miss. 1977). Absurd and unthought of results will not be attributed to the Legislature. If such results follow from the plain letter of the statute, if it can be reasonably done, some other construction of the statute must be found. Davenport v. State, 143 Miss. 121, 108 So. 433 (Miss. 1926).