Must a Mississippi judicial candidate name campaign committee members before forming a committee?

Plain-English summary

Candidates asked how to comply with former Canon 5F(5)'s notice requirement when they had not formed a campaign committee and might never form one if unopposed.

The Committee read Canon 5C(2) as making a campaign committee optional. It concluded that the candidate need not provide a chair's or members' contact information until a committee is formed. Once formed, the candidate must give the Commission on Judicial Performance that information within ten days.

The opinion also reminded candidates that they may not personally solicit or accept campaign contributions; fundraising must be handled by a properly established campaign committee.

Common questions

Q: Must a candidate report committee members when no committee exists?

A: No. The Committee said the names and contact information become due only if the candidate actually forms a committee.

Q: When must a formed committee's information be reported?

A: Within ten days after formation, according to the opinion's reading of Canon 5F(5).

Q: May the candidate personally solicit contributions without a committee?

A: No. The opinion says candidates may not personally solicit or accept campaign contributions.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interpreted Mississippi Code of Judicial Conduct Canons 5C(2) and 5F(5) for judicial candidates in the 2022 election cycle.

Citations and references

Mississippi Code of Judicial Conduct: Canons 5C(2) and 5F(5).

See also

• MS Judicial Opinion 2026-01: Re-election Wording

Source

• Landing page: Judicial Election Oversight Committee opinions
• Original PDF: Public Opinion No. 2022-01

Original opinion text

Best-effort extraction from the official public PDF. The linked PDF is authoritative.

Judicial Election Oversight Committee

2022 Judicial Elections

2021-M-01306-SCT

The Judicial Election Oversight Committee (“Oversight Committee”) has received a number of questions regarding subsection (5) of recently revised Canon 5F, which states as follows:

5. Notice. Within ten (10) days of a judicial candidate’s public announcement or official qualification for election to any judicial office in this state, whichever is earlier, a judicial candidate shall forward written notice of such candidacy and the required campaign committee members to the Commission.
This notice must provide contact information, which includes the appropriate mailing address, email address, and telephone number, of the candidate and the candidate’s campaign committee chair and at least two (2) other members of the candidate’s campaign committee.

A number of candidates have asked whether they are required to provide names and contact information for their campaign committee chair and two other members of their committee if they have not formed a committee and do not intend to form a committee if they do not have an opponent.

The Oversight Committee concludes that a candidate is not required to provide contact information for their campaign committee chair or other committee members unless and until the candidate forms a campaign committee. Under Canon 5C(2), a candidate “may” establish a campaign committee but is not required to do so – i.e., it is optional. Some candidates – particularly candidates who are unopposed – may never form a campaign committee. Therefore, a candidate may not have a committee chair or other committee members at the time he or she qualifies for election or publicly announces his or her candidacy. Accordingly, the Oversight Committee interprets Canon 5F(5) to require a candidate to provide names and contact information for the chair and two other members of their campaign committee only when the candidate actually forms such a committee. The candidate shall provide this information to the Commission on Judicial Performance within ten days of the formation of any campaign committee. Candidates are reminded that they may not personally solicit or accept any campaign contributions and that any fundraising activities must be undertaken by a properly established campaign committee.