Report on the Election Commission

At this evening's Board of Supervisors' Meeting, 15 Jun 2012, the Transparency Committee again reported on the Election Commission.  These are our findings:

A. Meetings are not being posted as required by the MS Open Meetings Act.  Tunica County employs a full-time Public Information Officer. If the Election Commission cannot find the time to comply with the Open Meetings Act, why can't the Public Information Officer be assign this task? Come to think of it, why isn't the Public Information Officer publishing all meetings of public entities?“

B. Jun 2012: No meeting was held because the Courthouse was locked.  And this isn't the first time this has happened.  For this year alone, the Election Commission has been locked out of the Courthouse in Feb and Jun 2012.

C. A meeting couldn't be held anyway as only 2 Commissioners showed up and there had to be 3 of the 5 Commissioners for a quorum.  What is the deal with the Tunica County Election Commission? Why don't you have a quorum at so many of your meetings?

D. There has been no transcription help offered as requested by the Board of Supervisors on 13 Apr 2012.  From the Secretary of State's website, we learned that “they (the Election Commission) act as a group, through their minutes, which should be filed with the circuit clerk of the county." Conclusion: At the 13 Apr 2012, Board of Supervisors' President, James Dunn, asked the County Administrator to check into this situation and see what could be done to help. This hasn't happened.  Surprise!!!  NOT!!!!

We also found information in the MS Code:

25-41-11. Minutes of meetings


(1) MS Code 25-41-11. Minutes of meetings: "Minutes shall be kept of all meetings of a public body, whether in open or executive session, showing the members present and absent; the date, time and place of the meeting; an accurate recording of any final actions taken at such meeting; and a record, by individual member, of any votes taken; and any other information that the public body requests be included or reflected in the minutes. The minutes shall be recorded within a reasonable time not to exceed thirty (30) days after recess or adjournment and shall be open to public inspection during regular business hours." End of MS Code

Since Feb 2012, the Transparency Committee has been asking both the Circuit Clerk and the Election Committee to review their minutes for 2011.  All we are getting is a run around.  Additionally, Election Commission Minutes are hand written and therefore are subject to change by anyone who can lay their hands on these documents.


E. Election commissions are also responsible for hearing and resolving disputes concerning the denial of voter registration by a circuit clerk. If the dispute is resolved in favor of the applicant, the individual is placed on the voter rolls by the election commission. This is the only time that the election commission may place a name onto a voter roll.  However, if the public is unaware of when the Tunica County Election Commission meets, how can they get their problem(s) solved?


F. “A circuit clerk is required to attend the regularly scheduled meetings of the election commission.”  This is not being done.  I've been there and the Circuit Clerk has not.


G. “A circuit clerk must also give all assistance that he is capable of giving to the election commissioners to assist them in the revision of voter rolls.”  So, let's see, the Circuit Clerk is not at the Election Commission Meetings; the Circuit Clerk does not provide the Election Commission with a printed copy of the current voter rolls for use during their meetings; and during their meetings, the Election Commission does not have computer access to the SEMS system.  All of this is just plain wrong.


H. “A circuit clerk keeps copies of the minutes of the meetings of the county election commissioners. Those minutes are prepared by the election commission when official action has been taken.”  But when a person goes to the Circuit Clerk and asks to see the minutes, she doesn't have them and tells you they are in the locked Election Commission room upstairs.
In conclusion, just what are the citizens of Tunica County supposed to do?  In answer to this question, this is what we found in the MS Code:

25-41-15. Enforcement of chapter; civil penalty

"The Mississippi Ethics Commission shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this chapter upon a complaint filed by any person. Upon receiving a complaint, the commission shall forward a copy of the complaint to the head of the public body involved. The public body shall have fourteen (14) days from receipt of the complaint to file a response with the commission. After receiving the response to the complaint or, if no response is received after fourteen (14) days, the commission, in its discretion, may dismiss the complaint or proceed by setting a hearing in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the Ethics Commission.

After a hearing, the Ethics Commission may order the public body to take whatever reasonable measures necessary, if any, to comply with this chapter. If the Ethics Commission finds that a member or members of a public body has willfully and knowingly violated the provisions of this chapter, the Ethics Commission may impose a civil penalty upon the individual members of the public body found to be in violation of the provision of this chapter in a sum not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for a first offense and One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for a second or subsequent offense, plus all reasonable expenses incurred by the person or persons in bringing the complaint to enforce this chapter."

Don't know about you, but I'm ready to file a complaint.