Lynd, 041772 MSAGO, 1972-0005

• Case Date: April 17, 1972
• Court: Mississippi

Honorable Theron C. Lynd No. 1972-0005 Mississippi Attorney General Opinions April 17, 1972          Honorable Theron C. Lynd          Circuit Clerk          Hattiesburg, Mississippi                    Dear Mr. Lynd:          The ratification of the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution necessitates a reappraisal of the opinion rendered you on April 7, 1967, copy of which is attached.

The 26th Amendment, supra, provides: “The right of citizens of the United States who are eighteen years of age or older to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of age. “The Congress shall have power to enforce this Article by appropriate legislation.”

         The ratification of this amendment pursuant to the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution had the effect of amending Section 241 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 to reduce the voting age from twenty-one years old and upwards to eighteen years old and upwards.          While there were college students twenty-one years old and upwards affected by Section 241, supra, before its amendment by the 26th Amendment, supra, the ratification of the 26th Amendment, supra, vastly increased the number of college students included in the ambit of and affected by Section 241, supra, as amended, as above set forth.          In the light of this significant change in voter composition with respect to college students, the following review of court decisions is made wherein the focal consideration is the question of residence and how that such may be determined by the election officials charged with the duty of ascertaining the same.          It is indispensable that this question be determined in the same manner and based upon the same rational or premise for all persons eighteen years of age or older. This is an absolute constitutional guaranty required to be afforded by the due process and equal protection provisions of the federal and state constitutions. In other words, the standards for determination of residence must be applied alike to all eligible persons.          It must also be kept in mind that the determination of residence must be made on an individual basis, individual by individual, within the relevant facts and circumstances pertaining to each individual and may not be determined collectively with respect to groups of persons. This fundamental does not mean that one or more established legal principles may be applied to more than one...