Opinion ID: 1631680
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Timely request to view ballot boxes.

Text: ¶ 5. The Legislature imposed a 12 day statutory limit to view ballots when there is an election contest pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-911(1) (Rev.2001). The statute states, in part: (1) ... At any time within twelve (12) days after the canvass and examination of the box and its contents by the election commission or executive committee, as the case may be, any candidate or his representative authorized in writing by him shall have the right of full examination of said box and its contents upon three (3) days' notice of his application therefor served upon the opposing candidate or candidates, or upon any member of their family over the age of eighteen (18) years, which examination shall be conducted in the presence of the circuit clerk or his deputy who shall be charged with the duty to see that none of the contents of the box are removed from the presence of the clerk or in any way tampered with. Upon the completion of said examination the box shall be resealed with all its contents as theretofore. And if any contest or complaint before the court shall arise over said box, it shall be kept intact and sealed until the court hearing and another ballot box, if necessary, shall be furnished for the precinct involved. ¶ 6. In Weeks v. Bates, 237 Miss. 778, 780, 115 So.2d 298, 299-300 (1959), this Court strictly construed the statutory language of then  applicable Miss.Code Ann. § 3169 pertaining to a 12 day window to review ballot boxes. [1] In Weeks, the losing candidate noticed the winning candidate of the request for examination of the ballots within 12 days of the canvass, but the actual examination date occurred outside the 12 day period. Id. at 779-90, 115 So.2d 298. The ballots were examined 14 days after the committee canvass. Id. at 780, 115 So.2d 298. This Court held: Section 3169 is unambiguous. It states that a candidate has a right of examination of the ballot boxes `at any time within twelve days' after the county executive committee's canvass. Appellant made his examination 14 days after the canvass, and over appellee's objection. We are not authorized to alter this statutory limitation on the right to examine ballot boxes in a primary election. The determination of a time limit within which such examinations may be made is a legislative question. Id. at 299-300 (emphasis added). Likewise, in Noxubee County Democratic Executive Committee v. Russell, 443 So.2d 1191, 1195 (Miss.1983), this Court determined that the 12 day period does not begin to run until the certification. While Russell involved a different statute than Miss.Code Ann. § 23-15-911, the language at issue was the same. In Russell, three days after certification, the losing candidate contested the results, but requested to examine the ballots on a date that was ten days after the certification and thus within the 12 day period. ¶ 7. Here, the primary election and certification was on August 5, 2003. Cook contested the primary election results on August 15, 2003, and requested to view the ballots on August 19, 2003. We find that pursuant to prior case law and the strict interpretation of the statute, Cook had to request and view the ballots on or before August 17, 2003, in order to comply with the requirements of Miss.Code Ann. § 23-15-911. Cook did not view the ballots within the 12 day time frame, and despite any argument concerning the three-day notice requirement to Brown contained in the statute, this Court cannot extend the statutorily mandated requirements. As held in Weeks, setting the time frame for viewing the ballots is a legislative function, and this Court has no authority to modify the 12 day statutory limitation. Weeks, 115 So.2d at 300.