Can a Mississippi poll worker stop a candidate or supporter from using a bullhorn near a polling place, even if the person stays outside the 150-foot buffer zone?

Plain-English summary

The Mississippi Secretary of State asked the AG whether election bailiffs (the poll managers designated to keep order at the polls) can do anything about candidates and supporters using bullhorns near polling places. The concern: someone could stand more than 150 feet from the polling place (outside the campaign-literature buffer zone in § 23-15-895) and still drown out polling place activity through sheer volume.

The AG said yes. Section 23-15-241 gives the election bailiff authority to "prevent improper intrusion upon the voting place or interference with the election" and to "arrest all persons creating any disturbance about the voting place." The statute is not limited by physical distance. If the bailiff makes a real-time judgment that a noise amplifier is creating an improper intrusion or disturbance or interfering with the election, they can take appropriate action, including calling local law enforcement, regardless of how far away the speaker is standing.

What this means for you

If you are a poll manager or election bailiff in Mississippi

The opinion holds that if the bailiff determines, based on the scene before him or her, that a noise amplifying device is creating a disturbance about the voting place, causing an improper intrusion, or interfering with the election, the bailiff has authority under § 23-15-241 to take appropriate action to stop it, with the assistance of local law enforcement if necessary, regardless of the distance from the polls. It holds neither § 23-15-241 nor § 23-15-245 is limited by physical distance.

If you are a candidate, campaign manager, or supporter on Election Day

The opinion holds the bailiff's authority under § 23-15-241 is not limited by the 30-foot zone (§ 23-15-245) or the 150-foot campaign-literature zone (§ 23-15-895); a noise amplifying device may be stopped at any distance if the bailiff determines it is creating a disturbance, improper intrusion, or interference with the election.

If you are a county election commissioner or circuit clerk training poll workers

The opinion encourages the Secretary of State's Office to incorporate appropriate guidelines into election officials' training. It holds the 30-foot zone (§ 23-15-245) and 150-foot zone (§ 23-15-895) establish physical boundaries, while § 23-15-241 (not limited by distance) authorizes the bailiff to act on a noise amplifying device that creates an improper intrusion, interference, or disturbance even without crossing those boundaries.

If you are a voter encountering a bullhorn at the polls

The opinion holds the election bailiff has authority under § 23-15-241 to act, with the assistance of local law enforcement if necessary, when a noise amplifying device creates a disturbance, improper intrusion, or interference with the election.

Common questions

Q: How close can someone with a bullhorn legally stand?
A: There is no specific distance for amplified sound. The 30-foot rule (§ 23-15-245) keeps people other than election officials, voters, and poll watchers out of the immediate voting area. The 150-foot rule (§ 23-15-895) prohibits campaign literature within that range. Neither addresses noise. The AG's opinion is that bullhorn use can be stopped at any distance if it creates a disturbance, intrusion, or interference.

Q: Does this rule apply to non-political noise too?
A: The opinion interprets § 23-15-241 in the context of noise amplifying devices (bullhorns) used by candidates and supporters. Its analysis turns on whether the bailiff determines there is a disturbance, improper intrusion, or interference with the election, not on the political content of the noise.

Q: Can a bailiff actually arrest someone, or is that just police work?
A: § 23-15-241 says the bailiff "shall ... arrest all persons creating any disturbance about the voting place." In practice, bailiffs work with local law enforcement to physically detain anyone. The bailiff's role is to make the call that an arrest is needed and to summon assistance.

Q: What about the speaker's First Amendment rights?
A: The opinion does not analyze the First Amendment. It interprets the bailiff's authority under § 23-15-241 to prevent improper intrusion, interference, and disturbance at the voting place.

Q: Did the AG recommend anything beyond interpreting the statute?
A: The opinion encourages the Secretary of State's Office to incorporate appropriate guidelines into election officials' training.

Background and statutory framework

Mississippi's election laws set up a layered approach to keeping order at polls:

• § 23-15-241 designates one poll manager as the election bailiff, with broad authority to "keep the peace," "protect the voting place," "prevent improper intrusion upon the voting place or interference with the election," and "arrest all persons creating any disturbance about the voting place." The statute does not impose a distance limit on this authority.
• § 23-15-245 mandates a 30-foot zone "kept open and clear of all persons except the election officials, individuals present to vote and credentialed poll watchers."
• § 23-15-895 prohibits the distribution of campaign literature within 150 feet of the entrance of the polling place.

The Secretary of State's concern was that bullhorns, by their nature, project sound far beyond any physical zone. A person 200 feet from a polling place can still drown out instructions inside it. The AG read § 23-15-241 to be the catch-all authority that addresses sound that crosses physical boundaries even when the speaker does not. The decision is committed to the bailiff's on-scene judgment, not to a bright-line distance rule.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-241 (election bailiff duties: keep the peace, prevent improper intrusion or interference, arrest those creating disturbance)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-245 (30-foot zone open and clear of all but election officials, voters, and credentialed poll watchers)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-895 (no distribution of campaign literature within 150 feet of polling place entrance)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/M.Watson-August-2-2023-Use-of-Noise-Amplifying-Devices-Around-Polling-Places.pdf

Original opinion text

August 2, 2023

The Honorable Michael Watson
Secretary of State, Mississippi
401 Mississippi Street
Jackson, Mississippi 39201

Re: Use of Noise Amplifying Devices Around Polling Places

Dear Secretary Watson:

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

Background

According to your request, you have received inquiries from circuit clerks and election commissioners as to what action, if any, may be taken by a poll manager designated as election bailiff when noise amplifying devices, specifically bullhorns, are being used around polling places during an election. You are concerned that these noise amplifying devices would amplify the words of candidates and/or candidate supporters who may be standing more than one hundred fifty feet from the polling place, but who, by virtue of the increased volume and noise, could still be disturbing the peace and interfering with the election process in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated Section 23-15-241.

Question Presented

In making a determination as to whether or not an improper intrusion or interference with the election has occurred as contemplated in Section 23-15-241, are election bailiffs authorized to request that the use of noise amplifying devices be discontinued if the use of such devices causes a disturbance about the voting place or other improper intrusion and interference with the election?

Brief Response

If an election bailiff determines, based on the scene before him or her, that the use of a noise amplifying device is creating a disturbance about the voting place, causing an improper intrusion upon the voting place, or interfering with the election, he or she has the authority pursuant to Section 23-15-241 to take action, with the assistance of local law enforcement if necessary, to stop the disturbance and to enable all qualified voters, who have not voted and who desire to vote, to have unobstructed access to the polls.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Section 23-15-241 provides:

The poll manager designated an [sic] election bailiff shall, in addition to his or her other duties, be present during the election to keep the peace and to protect the voting place, and to prevent improper intrusion upon the voting place or interference with the election, and to arrest all persons creating any disturbance about the voting place, and to enable all qualified electors who have not voted, and who desire to vote, to have unobstructed access to the polls for the purpose of voting when others are not voting.

In your request, you also reference Sections 23-15-245 and 23-15-895. Section 23-15-245, which mandates a space of thirty feet "be kept open and clear of all persons except the election officials, individuals present to vote and credentialed poll watchers," and Section 23-15-895, which prohibits the distribution of campaign literature within one hundred fifty feet of the entrance of the building where an election is being held, both establish physical boundaries inside of which voters are free to exercise their vote without influence or interference. However, a bullhorn or other noise amplifying device may create the same issues of influence or interference without crossing those physical boundaries. Neither Section 23-15-241, which authorizes the election bailiff to prevent improper intrusion upon the voting place or interference with the election, nor Section 23-15-245, which also authorizes the election bailiff to "take such steps as will accomplish the purpose of his or her appointment," are limited by physical distance. It is, therefore, the opinion of this office that if the election bailiff makes the determination that a noise amplification device is creating an improper intrusion upon the voting place, interfering with the election, or creating a disturbance, he or she may take appropriate action to stop the interference or disturbance regardless of the distance from the polls, with assistance from local law enforcement, if necessary. We encourage the Secretary of State's Office to incorporate appropriate guidelines into election officials' training.

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