Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 23 - ELECTIONS (§§ 23-NEW-NEW-001 — 23-17-61) › Chapter 15 - MISSISSIPPI ELECTION CODE (§§ 23-15-NEW — 23-15-1111) › Article 25 - VACANCIES IN OFFICE (§§ 23-15-831 — 23-15-859) › Section 23-15-839 - Appointments to fill vacancies in county or county district offices; special election procedures; procedure where only one person has qualified for candidacy in special election

(1)
When a vacancy occurs 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 the board is not in session, and the clerk of the board shall certify to the Secretary of State the appointment, and the appointed person 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. 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 vacancy occurs. The board of supervisors of the county shall, within ten (10) days after the vacancy occurs, make an order, in writing, directed to the election commissioners, 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 election results, certified by the clerk of the board of supervisors. The person elected shall be commissioned by the Governor to take office once the election is certified.
(2)
In any election ordered pursuant to this section where only one (1) person qualifies with the election commissioners to be a candidate within the time provided by law, the election commissioners shall certify to the board of supervisors that there is only one (1) candidate. Thereupon, the board of supervisors shall dispense with the election and appoint the certified candidate to fill the unexpired term. The clerk of the board shall certify the appointed candidate to the Secretary of State and the candidate shall be commissioned by the Governor. In the event no person qualifies by 5:00 p.m. sixty (60) days before the date of the election, the election commissioners shall certify that fact to the board of supervisors who shall dispense with the election and fill the vacancy by appointment. The clerk of the board of supervisors shall certify the appointment to the Secretary of State, and the appointed person shall be commissioned by the Governor.
Derived from 1972 Code § 23-5-197 [Codes, 1906, § 4189; Hemingway's 1917, § 6823; 1930, § 6263; 1942, § 3292; Laws, 1900, ch. 79; Laws, 1948, ch. 259; Laws, 1958, ch. 542; Laws, 1966 ch. 615, § 1; Laws, 1984, ch. 465, § 2; repealed by Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 335]; Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 252; Laws, 1987, ch. 499, § 17; Laws, 1993, ch. 303, § 1; Laws, 2000, ch. 592, § 12, eff. 7/28/2000 (the date the United States Attorney General interposed no objection under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965).
Amended by Laws, 2017, ch. 441, HB 467, 136, eff. 7/1/2017.