If a Mississippi city annexes my neighborhood, do I have to wait two years before I can run for city council?

Plain-English summary

Section 23-15-300(1) requires Mississippi candidates for municipal, county, or county district office to have been residents of the territory they want to represent "for two (2) years immediately preceding the day of election."

Senator Blackwell asked the AG: if a city annexes part of the surrounding county, can a resident of the newly annexed area run for city office, even if the annexation occurred less than two years before the election?

The AG said yes. The resident did not move; the political boundary did. Mississippi has a long-standing AG doctrine that "a candidate whose residency is continuous and uninterrupted may apply his previous period of residency in his former district to the period he has resided in the newly created district to satisfy the residency requirements" (citing Sautermeister, 1991). The same principle applies to annexation: "[t]he candidate has not moved and remains a resident in the same location. It is merely the configuration and designation which has changed and is applicable to the same land area" (Martin, 1983).

So a person who lived in the same house for ten years can run for the new municipal office that now governs that house, regardless of how recently the annexation took effect. The two-year clock does not restart with annexation.

What this means for you

If you live in a newly annexed area and want to run for municipal office

Under this opinion, the time you resided in the territory before it was annexed counts toward the two-year residency requirement in § 23-15-300(1). The AG reasons that a resident whose residency is continuous and uninterrupted has not moved; only the boundary has changed. So if you have lived at your address for at least the two years before election day, a recent annexation does not restart the clock.

If you're a city clerk or election commissioner reviewing candidate qualifications

Under this opinion, a candidate from a newly annexed area meets § 23-15-300(1) if their residency at the address is continuous and totals at least two years before election day. The AG concludes the annexation does not interrupt that residency, because the candidate's location did not change.

If you're a city attorney

The opinion answers a recurring annexation question directly: a resident of a newly annexed area may run for municipal office even if the annexation occurred less than two years before the election, so long as the resident's continuous residency at that location totals two years. The AG treats the residency requirement as tied to the land, not the boundary designation.

If you're a Mississippi state legislator

The opinion is the AG's reading of § 23-15-300(1): residency in the "territory" is satisfied by continuous, uninterrupted residency at a location even when the political boundary changes. The AG applies the statute and its prior Sautermeister and Martin opinions; it does not call for any amendment.

Common questions

Q: Does this work for redistricting too?
A: Yes. The AG cited the same principle as it applies to redistricting (Sautermeister, Martin). A redistricting that places your house in a different district doesn't restart your residency clock.

Q: What if I moved into the annexed area only one year ago?
A: Then you don't have two years of residency, regardless of the annexation timing. The two-year requirement is two years of continuous residency, period.

Q: Does residence in the unincorporated area count for county office before annexation?
A: Time in the unincorporated area counted as residency in the county. Annexation moves the area into the city, but does not undo the county residency. For county office, your county residency continues.

Q: Does this opinion address school board residency?
A: No. The opinion interprets § 23-15-300(1), which covers municipal, county, and county district office. School board residency is governed by other rules the opinion does not reach.

Background and statutory framework

Section 23-15-300(1) reads: "Any candidate for any municipal, county or county district office shall be a resident of the municipality, county, county district or other territory that he or she seeks to represent in such office for two (2) years immediately preceding the day of election."

The interpretive challenge is what counts as "residency in the territory" when boundaries shift. The AG has consistently read residency as land-based: the candidate lives in the same place; if the political designation of that place changes, the residency continues uninterrupted.

The AG grounds this in two prior opinions interpreting the same principle for redistricting: Sautermeister (Apr. 30, 1991), which allowed a candidate whose residency was continuous and uninterrupted to apply prior residency in a former district to a newly created district, and Martin (July 8, 1983), which reasoned that the candidate "has not moved and remains a resident in the same location" when only the configuration and designation of the land area changed. The opinion extends that same reasoning to municipal annexation.

Citations and references

Statute:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-300(1) (two-year residency requirement for municipal/county/county district candidates)

Prior AG opinions referenced:

• MS AG Op., Sautermeister (Apr. 30, 1991), continuous residency before redistricting counts toward residency in the new district
• MS AG Op., Martin (July 8, 1983), same principle for redistricting

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/K.Blackwell-April-26-2023-Residency-Requirements-under-Section-23-15-300.pdf

Original opinion text

April 26, 2023

The Honorable Kevin Blackwell
Senator, District 19
Post Office Box 1412
Southaven, Mississippi 38671

Re: Residency Requirements under Section 23-15-300

Dear Senator Blackwell:

The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Question Presented

If a municipality annexes part of the county, would a resident of the newly annexed area be eligible to run for municipal office if the annexation occurred less than two (2) years from the day of the election?

Brief Response

The time that an individual resided within the territory prior to municipal annexation would apply to the residency requirement for municipal office in Mississippi Code Annotated Section 23-15-300(1).

Applicable Law and Discussion

Pursuant to Section 23-15-300(1), "[a]ny candidate for any municipal, county or county district office shall be a resident of the municipality, county, county district or other territory that he or she seeks to represent in such office for two (2) years immediately preceding the day of election."

In MS AG Op., Sautermeister (Apr. 30, 1991), a county election commission asked several questions related to the effect of redistricting on a candidate's eligibility to seek office in a newly created district. Sautermeister at 2. This office opined "that a candidate whose residency is continuous and uninterrupted may apply his previous period of residency in his former district to the period he has resided in the newly created district to satisfy the residency requirements for holding office from such district." Id. The Sautermeister opinion relied on the "principle of combining periods of residency where there has been a change in jurisdictions without a change of location by the candidate or voter." Id. (internal citations omitted). In MS AG Op., Martin (July 8, 1983), this office was asked about a situation in which a candidate's residency switched from one district to another based upon the adoption of a new redistricting plan. In opining that the candidate was entitled to run in the new district in which he resided under the new redistricting plan, this office opined that "[t]he candidate has not moved and remains a resident in the same location. It is merely the configuration and designation which has changed and is applicable to the same land area." Martin at 2. Similarly, it is the opinion of this office that an individual's continuous and uninterrupted residency in territory that is annexed by a municipality should be considered residency within the municipality when determining whether the individual meets the residency duration requirement in Section 23-15-300(1).

If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: /s/ Beebe Garrard
Beebe Garrard
Special Assistant Attorney General