House Bill 1514

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-203, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELECTION OF CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE BOARDS OF TRUSTEES OF MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE SAME MANNER AND AT THE SAME TIME AS THE GENERAL ELECTION; TO ESTABLISH A TERM OF FOUR YEARS FOR THAT OFFICE; TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-204, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE MANNER FOR FILING A VACANCY ON THOSE BOARDS; TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-207, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELECTION OF CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE BOARDS OF TRUSTEES OF CERTAIN SINGLE DISTRICT CONSOLIDATED OR CONSOLIDATED LINE SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE SAME MANNER AND AT THE SAME TIME AS THE GENERAL ELECTION; TO ESTABLISH A TERM OF FOUR YEARS FOR THAT OFFICE; TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-215, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-217, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS VOTING TO SELECT TRUSTEES TO REPORT TO AND VOTE AT THEIR REGULAR VOTING PRECINCTS AT THE GENERAL ELECTION; TO REQUIRE THE COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSIONER TO CERTIFY THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTION TO CERTAIN ENTITIES; TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-219, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSIONERS TO PREPARE SEPARATE LISTS OF THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ELECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-713, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF CERTAIN SPECIAL MUNICIPAL SEPARATE SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE SAME MANNER AND AT THE SAME TIME AS THE GENERAL ELECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 37-7-223, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF CERTAIN CONSOLIDATED OR CONSOLIDATED LINE SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE SAME MANNER AND AT THE SAME TIME AS THE GENERAL ELECTION; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 37-5-7 AND 37-5-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 37-7-203, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

[Until the date the provisions of Section 2, Chapter 470, Laws of 2009, that relate to a majority vote requirement and a runoff election are effectuated under the provisions of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended, this section shall read as follows:]

37-7-203. (1) The boards of trustees of all municipal separate school districts created under this chapter, either with or without added territory, shall consist of five (5) members, each to be chosen for a term of four (4) years, but so chosen that the term of office of one (1) member shall expire each year. If the added territory of a municipal separate school district furnishes fifteen percent (15%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of the district, then at least one (1) member of the board of trustees of the school district shall be a resident of the added territory outside the corporate limits. If the added territory of a municipal separate school district furnishes thirty percent (30%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of the district, then not more than two (2) members of the board of trustees of the school district shall be residents of the added territory outside the corporate limits. If the added territory of a municipal separate school district in a county in which Mississippi Highways 8 and 15 intersect furnishes thirty percent (30%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of the district, then the five (5) members of the board of trustees of the school district shall be elected at large from the school district for a term of four (4) years * * * in the same manner and at the same time as the general state and county elections, as provided for in Section 37-7-215. However, in order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each member of the board serving on the effective date of House Bill No. ____, 2010 Regular Session, that otherwise would expire after the first Monday in January 2012, shall expire on the first Monday of January 2012. Each member of the board whose term expires after the effective date of House Bill No. ____, 2010 Regular Session, but before the first Monday of January 2012 shall continue to serve until the term shall expire on the first Monday of January 2012, at which time the individual elected in the manner provided in Section 37-7-215 shall take office. If one (1) of two (2) municipal separate school districts located in any county with two (2) judicial districts, District 1 being comprised of Supervisors Districts 1, 2, 4 and 5, and District 2 being comprised of Supervisors District 3, with added territory embraces three (3) full supervisors districts of a county, one (1) trustee shall be elected from each of the three (3) supervisors districts outside the corporate limits of the municipality in the manner provided in Section 37-7-215. In the further event that the territory of a municipal separate school district located in any county with two (2) judicial districts, District 1 being comprised of Supervisors Districts 1, 2, 4 and 5, and District 2 being comprised of Supervisors District 3, with added territory embraces four (4) full supervisors districts in the county, and in any county in which a municipal separate school district embraces the entire county in which Highways 14 and 15 intersect, one (1) trustee shall be elected from each supervisors district in the manner provided in Section 37-7-215.

Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the trustees of such a municipal separate school district shall be elected by a majority of the governing authorities of the municipality at the first meeting of the governing authorities held in the month of December of each year, and the term of office of the member so elected shall commence on the first Monday of January following. In the case of a member of the board of trustees who is required to come from the added territory outside the corporate limits as is above provided, that member of the board of trustees shall be elected by the qualified electors of the school district residing in the added territory outside the corporate limits at the same time and in the same manner as is otherwise provided in this article for the election of trustees of school districts other than municipal separate school districts.

If a portion of a county school district is reconstituted, in the manner provided by law, into a municipal separate school district with added territory and if the trustees to be elected from the added territory are requested to be elected from separate election districts within the added territory, instead of elected at large, by the Attorney General of the United States as a result of and in accordance with preclearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as amended and extended, and if the added territory of a municipal separate school district of a municipality furnishes thirty percent (30%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of the district, then two (2) members of the board of trustees shall be residents of the added territory outside the corporate limits of the municipality and shall be elected from special trustee election districts by the qualified electors thereof as * * * provided in this subsection. The board of trustees of the school district shall apportion the added territory into two (2) special trustee election districts as nearly as possible according to population and other factors heretofore pronounced by the courts. The board of trustees of the school district shall thereafter publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation within that school district for at least two (2) consecutive weeks; and after having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board of trustees of the school district, the new district lines shall thereafter be effective. Any person elected from the new trustee election districts constituted in this subsection shall be elected in the manner provided for in Section 37-7-215 for a term of four (4) years. Any vacancy in the office of a trustee elected from the trustee election district, whether occasioned by redistricting or by other cause, shall be filled by appointment of the governing authorities of the municipality, provided that the person so appointed shall serve only until the first Monday of January succeeding the next general election following his appointment, at which time the person * * * elected * * * in the manner provided in Section 37-7-215 shall take office.

In any county organizing a countywide municipal separate school district after January 1, 1965, the trustees thereof to be elected from outside the municipality, the trustees shall be elected by the board of supervisors of the county, and the superintendent of the school district shall have authority to pay out and distribute the funds of the district. If a municipal separate school district occupies territory in a county other than that in which the municipality is located and fifteen percent (15%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of the district shall come from the territory of the district in the county other than that in which the municipality is located, the territory of the county in which the municipality is not located shall be entitled to one (1) member on the board of trustees of the school district. The trustee shall be a resident of the territory of that part of the district lying in the county in which the municipality is not located and shall be elected by the qualified electors of the territory of the county at the same time and in the same manner as is provided for the election of trustees of school districts other than municipal separate school districts having territory in two (2) or more counties.

All vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms by appointment of the governing authorities of the municipality; except that in the case of the trustees coming from the added territory outside the corporate limits, the person so appointed shall serve only until the first Monday of January succeeding the next general election following his appointment, at which time the person * * * elected * * * in the manner * * * provided in Section 37-7-215 shall take office.

No person who is a member of the governing body, or who is an employee of the municipality, or who is a member of the county board of education, or who is a trustee of any public, private or sectarian school or college located in the county, inclusive of the municipal separate school district, or who is a teacher in or a trustee of the school district, shall be eligible for appointment to the board of trustees.

[From and after the date the provisions of Section 2, Chapter 470, Laws of 2009, that relate to a majority vote requirement and a runoff election are effectuated under the provisions of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended, this section shall read as follows:]

37-7-203. (1) The boards of trustees of all municipal separate school districts created under this chapter, either with or without added territory, shall consist of five (5) members, each to be chosen for a term of four (4) years, but so chosen that the term of office of one (1) member shall expire each year. If the added territory of a municipal separate school district furnishes fifteen percent (15%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of the district, then at least one (1) member of the board of trustees of the school district shall be a resident of the added territory outside the corporate limits. If the added territory of a municipal separate school district furnishes thirty percent (30%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of the district, then not more than two (2) members of the board of trustees of the school district shall be residents of the added territory outside the corporate limits. If the added territory of a municipal separate school district in a county in which Mississippi Highways 8 and 15 intersect furnishes thirty percent (30%) or more of the pupils enrolled in the schools of the district, then the five (5) members of the board of trustees of the school district shall be elected at large from the school district for a term of four (4) years * * * in the manner provided for in Section 37-7-215. However, in order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each member of the board serving on the effective date of House Bill No. ____, 2010 Regular Session, that otherwise would expire after the first Monday in January 2012, shall expire on the first Monday of January 2012. Each member of the board whose term expires after the effective date of House Bill No. ____, 2010 Regular Session, but before the first Monday of January 2012 shall continue to serve until the term shall expire on the first Monday of January 2012, at which time the individual elected in the manner provided in Section 37-7-215 shall take office. If one (1) of two (2) municipal separate school districts located in any county with two (2) judicial districts, District 1 being comprised of Supervisors Districts 1, 2, 4 and 5, and District 2 being comprised of Supervisors District 3, with added territory embraces three (3) full supervisors districts of a county, one (1) trustee shall be elected from each of the three (3) supervisors districts outside the corporate limits of the municipality in the manner provided in Section 37-7-215. In the further event that the territory of a municipal separate school district located in any county with two (2) judicial districts, District 1 being comprised of Supervisors Districts 1, 2, 4 and 5, and District 2 being comprised of Supervisors District 3, with added territory embraces four (4) full supervisors districts in the county, and in any county in which a municipal separate school district embraces the entire county in which Highways 14 and 15 intersect, one (1) trustee shall be elected from each supervisors district in the manner provided in Section 37-7-215.

(2) In counties of less than fifteen thousand (15,000) people having a municipal separate school district with added territory which embraces all the territory of a county, one or more trustees of the school district shall be nominated from each supervisors district upon petition of fifty (50) qualified electors of that supervisors district, or twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of the district, whichever number shall be smaller. One (1) trustee must be elected from each supervisors district of the county. The person nominated in each supervisors district who receives a majority of the votes cast in the school district for the office of trustee from that supervisors district must be declared elected. If no person in a supervisors district receives a majority of the votes cast, then the two (2) persons residing in that supervisors district who receive the highest number of votes cast in the school district for the office of trustee from that supervisors district shall have their names submitted as candidates in a runoff election three (3) weeks after the date of the election, and the person who receives a majority of the votes cast in the runoff election must be declared elected. In those counties embraced entirely by a municipal separate school district, there shall be no county board of education after the formation of the district, and the county superintendent of education shall act as superintendent of schools of the district and shall be appointed by the board of trustees of that district, and the provisions of subsection (1) of this section and the first paragraph of Section 37-7-211 shall not apply to those districts.

SECTION 2. Section 37-7-204, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-7-204. If a vacancy occurs in the office of any elected trustee of a countywide municipal separate school district or a municipal separate school district with added territory, and the next regular general election at which the vacancy may be filled is less than one (1) year from the date of the vacancy, the governing authority of the municipality shall appoint an interim board member to fill the vacancy only until the first Monday of January succeeding the next general election following his appointment, at which time the person elected in the manner provided in Section 37-7-215 shall take office. If the members of the governing authority of the municipality are unable to agree upon an individual to be appointed, any two (2) of the members may certify the disagreement to the county election commission. Upon the receipt of a certificate by the county election commission, or any member thereof, the commission shall hold a special election to fill the vacancy, which election, notice thereof and ballot shall be controlled by the laws concerning special elections to fill vacancies in county or county district offices. The person elected at a special election shall serve until the first Monday of January succeeding the next general election following his or her special election.

SECTION 3. Section 37-7-207, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-7-207. (1) All school districts reconstituted or created under the provisions of Article 1 of this chapter, and which lie wholly within one (1) county, but not including municipal separate and countywide districts, shall be governed by a board of five (5) trustees. The first board of trustees of those districts shall be appointed by the county board of education, and the original appointments shall be so made that one (1) trustee shall be appointed to serve until the first Saturday of March following such appointments, one (1) for one (1) year longer, one (1) for two (2) years longer, one (1) for three (3) years longer, and one (1) for four (4) years longer. After the original appointments, the trustees of these school districts shall be elected by the qualified electors of such school districts in the manner provided for in this section and Sections 37-7-223 through 37-7-229, with each trustee to be elected for a term of four (4) years. The five (5) members of the board of trustees of the consolidated school district shall be elected from special trustee election districts by the qualified electors thereof, as * * * provided in this subsection. The board of trustees of any such consolidated school district shall apportion the consolidated school district into five (5) special trustee election districts. The board of trustees of the school district shall place upon its minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) trustee election districts. The board of trustees shall thereafter publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation within the school district for at least three (3) consecutive weeks; and after having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board of trustees, the new district lines shall thereafter be effective.

On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2011 and every four (4) years thereafter, in each consolidated school district * * *, an election shall be held in the same manner and at the same time as general state and county elections are held, for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of the district. At the election, the members of the * * * board * * * shall be elected for a term of four (4) years. However, in order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each member of the board serving on the effective date of House Bill No. ____, 2010 Regular Session, that otherwise would expire after the first Monday in January 2012, shall expire on the first Monday of January 2012. Each member of the board whose term expires after the effective date of House Bill No. ____, 2010 Regular Session, but before the first Monday of January 2012 shall continue to serve until the term shall expire on the first Monday of January 2012, at which time the individual elected in the manner provided in this section and Section 37-7-223 shall take office. All members of the * * * board of trustees shall take office on the first Monday of January following the date of their election. All vacancies that may occur during a term shall be filled by appointment of the consolidated school district trustees, but the person so appointed shall serve only until the first Monday of January succeeding the next general election following the appointment, at which time the person * * * elected in the manner provided in this section and Section 37-7-223 shall take office. The appointee shall be selected from the qualified electors of the district in which the vacancy occurs.

(2) All school districts reconstituted and created under the provisions of Article 3 of this chapter, which embrace territory in two (2) or more counties, but not including municipal separate school districts, shall be governed by a board of five (5) trustees. In making the original appointments, the several county boards of education shall appoint the trustee or trustees to which the territory in the county is entitled, and, by agreement between the county boards concerned, one (1) person shall be appointed to serve until the first Saturday of March following, one (1) for one (1) year longer, one (1) for two (2) years longer, one (1) for three (3) years longer and one (1) for four (4) years longer. Thereafter, such trustees shall be elected in the manner provided for in this section and Sections 37-7-223 through 37-7-229, for a term of four (4) years. The five (5) members of the board of trustees of the line consolidated school district shall be elected from special trustee election districts by the qualified electors thereof, as * * * provided in this section. The existing board of trustees of the line consolidated school district shall apportion the line consolidated school district into five (5) special trustee election districts. The board of trustees shall place upon its minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) trustee election districts. The board of trustees shall thereafter publish the same in a newspaper of general circulation within said school district for at least three (3) consecutive weeks; and after having given notice of publication and recording the same upon the minutes of the board of trustees, the new district lines shall thereafter be effective. * * * However, * * * in any line consolidated school district encompassing two (2) or more counties created pursuant to Laws, 1953, Extraordinary Session, Chapter 12, Section 8, in which, as a condition precedent to the creation of said district, each county that is a part of the district was contractually guaranteed to always have at least one (1) representative on the board, in order that the condition precedent may be honored and guaranteed, in any year in which the board of trustees of the line consolidated school district does not have at least one (1) member from each county or part thereof forming the district, the board of trustees in the district shall be governed by a board of a sufficient number of trustees to fulfill this guarantee, five (5) of whom shall be elected from the five (5) special trustee election districts which shall be as nearly equal as possible and one (1) member trustee appointed at large from each county not having representation on the elected board. In such cases, the board of supervisors of each county shall make written agreement to guarantee the manner of appointment of at least one (1) representative from each county in the district, placing the written agreement on the minutes of each board of supervisors in each county.

On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2011 and every four (4) years thereafter, in each line consolidated school district * * *, an election shall be held in the district in the same manner and at the same time as general state and county elections are held, for the purpose of electing the board of trustees of the district. At the election, members of the * * * board * * * shall be elected for a term of four (4) years. However, in order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each member of the board serving on the effective date of House Bill No. ____, 2010 Regular Session, that otherwise would expire after the first Monday in January 2012, shall expire on the first Monday of January 2012. Each member of the board whose term expires after the effective date of House Bill No. ____, 2010 Regular Session, but before the first Monday of January 2012 shall continue to serve until the term shall expire on the first Monday of January 2012, at which time the individual elected in the manner provided in this section and Section 37-7-223 shall take office. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast in the general election, then the two (2) candidates who received the highest number of votes cast shall have their names submitted as candidates in a runoff election three (3) weeks after the date of the general election, and the candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast in the runoff election must be declared elected. All members of the * * * board of trustees shall take office on the first Monday of January following the date of their election. In all elections, the trustee elected shall be a resident and qualified elector of the district entitled to the representation upon the board, and he shall be elected only by the qualified electors of the district. All vacancies which may occur during a term of office shall be filled by appointment of the consolidated line school district trustees, but the person so appointed shall serve only until the first Monday of January succeeding the next general election following the appointment, at which time the person * * * elected in the manner provided in this section and Section 37-7-223 shall take office.

SECTION 4. Section 37-7-215, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-7-215. All such elections shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2011 and every four (4) years thereafter, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, in the same manner and at the same time as general state and county elections are held and conducted. In the event a runoff is necessary, such runoff shall be held three (3) weeks thereafter.

SECTION 5. Section 37-7-217, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-7-217. The qualified electors of each school district operating under Section 37-7-215 * * * shall, at the general election, report to their regular voting precincts to cast votes to elect trustees. The county election commissioner shall * * * certify the results of the election to the governing authority of the municipality and to the superintendent of the municipal separate or special municipal separate school district, as the case may be, which certificate shall be delivered to those entities within five (5) days following the election. If a person shall not receive a majority of the votes cast upon the first ballot, a runoff shall be held between the two (2) persons receiving the highest number of votes upon such first ballot, which runoff shall be held three (3) weeks thereafter. No trustees' election shall be discontinued or adjourned but same shall be completed upon the day specified therefor.

SECTION 6. Section 37-7-219, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-7-219. For the purpose of holding such an election, it shall be the duty of the county election commissioners to prepare from the records in the office of the county registrar separate lists of the qualified electors of the added territory of the school district who reside in the precinct and who are eligible to participate in the election. The list shall be furnished to the election managers in each precinct, together with the ballots and other election supplies.

For each day spent in carrying out the provisions of Sections 37-7-203 through 37-7-219 the county election commissioners shall be paid at the rate prescribed by law.

SECTION 7. Section 37-7-713, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-7-713. In all special municipal separate school districts where the district embraces less than the entire area of the county and where the majority of the educable children of the district reside outside the limits of the municipality, unless the governing authorities of the municipality and the county provide for one (1) of the alternative methods of organization as set out in Sections 37-7-715 and 37-7-717, the * * * special municipal separate school district shall be governed by a board of trustees consisting of five (5) members, to be elected by the qualified electors of the municipal separate school district from the district at large in the manner provided by Sections 37-7-209 through 37-7-219, and all duties imposed upon the county superintendent of education by those sections with reference to the elections shall be imposed upon and performed by the superintendent of the municipal separate school district. The trustees of the special municipal separate school district shall be elected for a term of four (4) years, as * * * provided in this section. All the members of the board of trustees shall be residents and qualified electors of the school district. All vacancies which may occur during a term of office shall be filled by appointment by the remaining members of the board of trustees, the appointee to have the same qualifications as other members of the board. The appointment shall be made within thirty (30) days after the vacancy occurs. The person so appointed shall serve only until the first Monday of January succeeding the next general election, at which time the person elected shall take office.

SECTION 8. Section 37-7-223, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-7-223. All elections of consolidated or consolidated line school district trustees shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2011 and every four (4) years thereafter in the same manner and at the same time as general state and county elections are held and conducted. However, in order to provide for an orderly transition, the term of each member of the board serving on the effective date of House Bill No. ____, 2010 Regular Session, that otherwise would expire after the first Monday in January 2012, shall expire on the first Monday of January 2012. Each member of the board whose term expires after the effective date of House Bill No. ____, 2010 Regular Session, but before the first Monday of January 2012 shall continue to serve until the term shall expire on the first Monday of January 2012, at which time the individual elected as provided in this section shall take office.

SECTION 9. Section 37-5-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

37-5-7. (1) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May, 1954, an election shall be held in each county in this state in the same manner as general state and county elections are held and conducted, which election shall be held for the purpose of electing the county boards of education established under the provisions of this chapter. At such election, the members of the said board from Supervisors Districts One and Two shall be elected for the term expiring on the first Monday of January, 1957; members of the board from Supervisors Districts Three and Four shall be elected for a term expiring on the first Monday of January, 1959; and the member of the board from Supervisors District Five shall be elected for a term expiring on the first Monday of January, 1955. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2), all subsequent members of the board shall be elected for a term of six (6) years at the regular general election held on the first Monday in November next preceding the expiration of the term of office of the respective member or members of such board. All members of the county board of education as herein constituted, shall take office on the first Monday of January following the date of their election.

(2) On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, in any year in which any county shall elect to utilize the authority contained in Section 37-5-1(2), an election shall be held in each such county in this state for the purpose of electing the county boards of education in such counties. At said election the members of the said county board of education from Districts One and Two shall be elected for a term of four (4) years, the members from Districts Three and Four shall be elected for a term of six (6) years, and the member from District Five shall be elected for a term of (2) years. Thereafter, members shall be elected at general elections as vacancies occur for terms of six (6) years each. All members of the county board of education shall take office on the first Monday of January following the date of their election.

SECTION 10. Section 37-5-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

[Until the date Section 1, Chapter 470, Laws of 2009, is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended, this section shall read as follows:]

37-5-9. The name of any qualified elector who is a candidate for the county board of education shall be placed on the ballot used in the general elections by the county election commissioners, provided that the candidate files with the county election commissioners, not more than ninety (90) days and not less than sixty (60) days prior to the date of such general election, a petition of nomination signed by not less than fifty (50) qualified electors of the county residing within each supervisors district. Where there are less than one hundred (100) qualified electors in said supervisors district, it shall only be required that said petition of nomination be signed by at least twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of such supervisors district. The candidate in each supervisors district who receives the highest number of votes cast in the district shall be declared elected.

When any member of the county board of education is to be elected from the county at large under the provisions of this chapter, then the petition required by the preceding paragraph hereof shall be signed by the required number of qualified electors residing in any part of the county outside of the territory embraced within a municipal separate school district or special municipal separate school district. The candidate who receives the highest number of votes cast in the election shall be declared elected.

In no case shall any qualified elector residing within a municipal separate school district or special municipal separate school district be eligible to sign a petition of nomination for any candidate for the county board of education under any of the provisions of this section.

[From and after the date Section 1, Chapter 470, Laws of 2009, is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended, this section shall read as follows:]

37-5-9. (1) The name of any qualified elector who is a candidate for the county board of education shall be placed on the ballot used in the general elections by the county election commissioners, provided that the candidate files with the county election commissioners, not more than ninety (90) days and not less than sixty (60) days prior to the date of such general election, a petition of nomination signed by not less than fifty (50) qualified electors of the county residing within each supervisors district. Where there are less than one hundred (100) qualified electors in the supervisors district, it shall only be required that the petition of nomination be signed by at least twenty percent (20%) of the qualified electors of such supervisors district. The candidate in each supervisors district who receives a majority of the votes cast in the district must be declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast in the general election, then the two (2) candidates who receive the highest number of votes cast in the district shall have their names submitted as candidates in a runoff election three (3) weeks after the date of the general election, and the candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast in the district in the runoff election must be declared elected.

(2) When any member of the county board of education is to be elected from the county at large under the provisions of this chapter, then the petition required by subsection (1) of this section shall be signed by the required number of qualified electors residing in any part of the county outside of the territory embraced within a municipal separate school district or special municipal separate school district. The candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast in the county must be declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast in the general election, then the two (2) candidates who receive the highest number of votes cast in the county shall have their names submitted as candidates in a runoff election three (3) weeks after the date of the general election, and the candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast in the county in the runoff election must be declared elected.

(3) In no case shall any qualified elector residing within a municipal separate school district or special municipal separate school district be eligible to sign a petition of nomination for any candidate for the county board of education under any of the provisions of this section.

SECTION 11. The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall submit this act, immediately upon approval by the Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.

SECTION 12. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the date it is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended, or July 1, 2010, whichever is later.