Opinion ID: 1743456
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: did necaise have standing to prosecute the action to attempt to disqualify ladner from running for the position of county superintendent of education?

Text: ¶ 4. The circuit court correctly decided that Necaise had standing to challenge Ladner's petition for office.  Any person desiring to contest the qualifications of another person who has qualified pursuant to provisions of Section 23-15-359, Mississippi Code of 1972, as a candidate for any office elected at a general election, shall file a petition specifically setting forth the grounds of the challenge.... Miss.Code Ann. § 23-15-963(1) (1990) (emphasis added). The language of a statute is controlling, and that language should be attributed a usual and ordinary meaning. See Mississippi Casino Operators Ass'n v. Mississippi Gaming Comm'n, 654 So.2d 892, 894 (Miss.1995); Buelow v. Kemp Co., 641 So.2d 1226, 1228-29 (Miss.1994). A plain reading of the statute sub judice is that any person is not restricted to mean that person must be a candidate for the election in which he/she is contesting the qualifications of a candidate. ¶ 5. Ladner argues that this Court has held that only a candidate for office can contest an election. In Jones v. Election Commissioners of Hancock County, 187 Miss. 636, 193 So. 3 (1940), this Court considered the question of whether a taxpayer and qualified elector could contest an election ordered by the board of supervisors to determine whether the office of county prosecutor could be abolished. The Court determined that the election could not be contested by someone other than a candidate for the position. The Court looked first to the language of the statute at issue in that case, which provided that the jury shall find the person having the greatest number of legal votes at the election.... Id. at 640, 193 So. at 3 (citing Miss.Code Ann. § 6258 (1930)). Because the relief afforded clearly contemplated that the election could only be contested by an opposing candidate, the Court held that although the statute said a person, one had to be a candidate to contest an election under that statute. ¶ 6. Jones is clearly distinguishable from the case as hand. In this case, the statute does not limit the relief to be obtained to a direction of the results of an election, but provides that any person may contest the qualifications of a candidate seeking office.