Opinion ID: 1671742
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: whether the evidence supported a conviction on count i.

Text: ¶ 42. Count I, of which McFarland was found guilty, charged him with falsely signing the name Lottie James to the affidavit on the envelope containing the absentee ballot marked by Lottie James. The count also charged McFarland with signing the ballot envelope's Attesting Witness Certificate, which falsely signified that the true signature of Lottie James had been placed on the envelope. McFarland, in an argument identical to the first one in the previous assignment, contends that the evidence was insufficient for a conviction on this count because there was no evidence that he was not authorized to sign Lottie James' name to the affidavit on her ballot envelope, a proposition for which he again cites no authority. Again, we find that this argument must fail. ¶ 43. A person voting by absentee ballot must sign the affidavit on the ballot envelope as provided in Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-635 (1972), which affidavit requires the signature of the voter. No statute provides that the voter may authorize another person to sign the voter's name to the affidavit. ¶ 44. McFarland does not dispute the sufficiency of the evidence showing that the signature on Lottie James' ballot envelope was not hers, and that it was McFarland who signed her name. Neither does McFarland dispute the fact that he signed the Attesting Witness Certificate, thereby attesting that the signature on the ballot was the true signature of Lottie James. We find that the evidence was sufficient to support a conviction on Count I.