Voting rights; restore upon satisfaction of all of the sentencing requirements of a conviction.

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To: Judiciary B;
Constitution
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Rosebud

HOUSE BILL NO. 1159

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON WHO IS OTHERWISE A QUALIFIED ELECTOR AND 2
HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF VOTE FRAUD, OF ANY CRIME LISTED IN SECTION 3
241, MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890, OR OF ANY CRIME INTERPRETED 4
AS DISENFRANCHISING IN LATER ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINIONS, SHALL HAVE 5
HIS OR HER RIGHT TO VOTE SUSPENDED UPON CONVICTION BUT SHALL HAVE 6
HIS OR HER RIGHT TO VOTE AUTOMATICALLY RESTORED ONCE HE OR SHE HAS 7
SATISFIED ALL OF THE SENTENCING REQUIREMENTS OF THE CONVICTION; TO 8
AMEND SECTIONS 23-15-19, 23-15-125, 23-15-151, 23-15-153 AND 9
23-15-165, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING 10
SECTION; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 97-39-3 AND 99-19-37, 11
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; 12
AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 13
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 14
SECTION 1. Section 23-15-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 15
amended as follows: 16
23-15-11. (1) Every inhabitant of this state, except 17
persons adjudicated to be non compos mentis, shall be a qualified 18
elector in and for the county, municipality and voting precinct of 19
his or her residence and shall be entitled to vote at any election 20
upon compliance with Section 23-15-563, if he or she: 21
(a) * * * Is a citizen of the United States of 22
America * * *; 23
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(b) Is eighteen (18) years old and upwards * * *; 24
(c) * * * Has resided in this state for thirty (30) 25
days and for thirty (30) days in the county in which he or she 26
seeks to vote, and for thirty (30) days in the incorporated 27
municipality in which he or she seeks to vote * * *; 28
(d) * * * Has been duly registered as an elector under 29
Section 23-15-33; and 30
(e) * * * Has never been convicted of vote fraud or of 31
any crime listed in Section 241, Mississippi Constitution of 32
1890 * * *. 33
If the thirtieth day to register before an election falls on 34
a Sunday or legal holiday, the registration applications submitted 35
on the business day immediately following the Sunday or legal 36
holiday shall be accepted and entered in the Statewide Elections 37
Management System for the purpose of enabling voters to vote in 38
the next election. 39
(2) A person who is otherwise a qualified elector under the 40
provisions of subsection (1) and has been convicted of vote fraud, 41
of any crime listed in Section 241, Mississippi Constitution of 42
1890, or of any crime interpreted as disenfranchising in later 43
Attorney General opinions, shall have his or her right to vote 44
suspended upon conviction but shall have his or her right to vote 45
automatically restored once he or she has satisfied all of the 46
sentencing requirements of the conviction. 47
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(3) Any person who will be eighteen (18) years of age or 48
older on or before the date of the general election and who is 49
duly registered to vote not less than thirty (30) days before the 50
primary election associated with the general election, may vote in 51
the primary election even though the person has not reached his or 52
her eighteenth birthday at the time that the person seeks to vote 53
at the primary election. 54
(4) No others than those specified in this section shall be 55
entitled, or shall be allowed, to vote at any election. 56
SECTION 2. Section 23-15-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 57
amended as follows: 58
23-15-19. Any person who has been convicted of vote fraud, 59
or any crime listed in Section 241, Mississippi Constitution of 60
1890, or of any crime interpreted as disenfranchising in later 61
Attorney General opinions, such crimes defined as 62
"disenfranchising," shall * * * have his or her right to vote 63
suspended upon conviction but shall have his or her right to vote 64
automatically restored once he or she has satisfied all of the 65
sentencing requirements of the conviction. Whenever any person 66
shall be convicted in the circuit court of his or her county of a 67
disenfranchising crime, the county registrar shall thereupon 68
remove his or her name from the Statewide Elections Management 69
System * * * until he or she has satisfied all of the sentencing 70
requirements of the conviction. Whenever any person shall be 71
convicted of a disenfranchising crime in any other court of any 72
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county, the presiding judge of the court shall, on demand, certify 73
the fact in writing to the registrar of the county in which the 74
voter resides, who shall * * * remove the name of the person from 75
the Statewide Elections Management System and retain the 76
certificate as a record of his or her office until he or she has 77
satisfied all of the sentencing requirements of the conviction. 78
SECTION 3. Section 23-15-125, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 79
amended as follows: 80
23-15-125. The pollbook of each voting precinct shall 81
designate the voting precinct for which it is to be used, and 82
shall be ruled in appropriate columns, with printed or written 83
headings, as follows: date of registration; voter registration 84
number; name of electors; date of birth; and a number of blank 85
columns for the dates of elections. All qualified applicants who 86
register with the registrar shall be entered in the Statewide 87
Elections Management System. Only the names of those qualified 88
applicants who register within thirty (30) days before an election 89
shall appear on the pollbooks of the election; however, if the 90
thirtieth day to register before an election falls on a Sunday or 91
legal holiday, the registration applications submitted on the 92
business day immediately following the legal holiday shall be 93
accepted and entered in the Statewide Elections Management System 94
for the purpose of enabling voters to vote in the next election. 95
When county election commissioners determine that any elector is 96
disqualified from voting, by reason of death, conviction of a 97
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disenfranchising crime, removal from the jurisdiction, failure to 98
comply with the provisions of Section 23-15-152, or other legal 99
cause, that fact shall be noted in the Statewide Elections 100
Management System and the voter's name shall be purged from the 101
Statewide Elections Management System, the state's voter roll and 102
the county's pollbooks. Nothing in this section shall preclude 103
the use of electronic pollbooks. A person who is otherwise a 104
qualified elector under the provisions of Section 23-15-11 and has 105
been convicted of vote fraud, of any crime listed in Section 241, 106
Mississippi Constitution of 1890, or of any crime interpreted as 107
disenfranchising in later Attorney General opinions, shall have 108
his or her right to vote suspended upon conviction but shall have 109
his or her right to vote automatically restored once he or she has 110
satisfied all of the sentencing requirements of the conviction. 111
Once the person has satisfied all of the sentencing requirements, 112
the voter's name shall be automatically restored into the 113
Statewide Elections Management System, the state's voter roll and 114
the county's pollbooks. 115
SECTION 4. Section 23-15-151, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 116
amended as follows: 117
23-15-151. The circuit clerk of each county is authorized 118
and directed to prepare and keep in his or her office a full and 119
complete list, in alphabetical order, of persons convicted of 120
voter fraud * * *, of any crime listed in Section 241, Mississippi 121
Constitution of 1890 or of any crime interpreted as 122
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disenfranchising in later Attorney General opinions. A certified 123
copy of any enrollment by one clerk to another will be sufficient 124
authority for the enrollment of the name, or names, in another 125
county. A list of persons convicted of voter fraud, any crime 126
listed in Section 241, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, or any 127
crime interpreted as disenfranchising in later Attorney General 128
opinions, shall also be entered into the Statewide Elections 129
Management System on a quarterly basis. * * * A person who is 130
otherwise a qualified elector under the provisions of Section 131
23-15-11 and has been convicted of vote fraud, of any crime listed 132
in Section 241, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, or of any crime 133
interpreted as disenfranchising in later Attorney General 134
opinions, shall have his or her right to vote suspended upon 135
conviction but shall have his or her right to vote automatically 136
restored once he or she has satisfied all of the sentencing 137
requirements of the conviction. Once the person has satisfied all 138
of the sentencing requirements, the voter's name shall be 139
automatically restored into the Statewide Elections Management 140
System, the state's voter roll and the county's pollbooks. 141
SECTION 5. Section 23-15-153, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 142
amended as follows: 143
23-15-153. (1) At least during the following times, the 144
election commissioners shall meet at the office of the registrar 145
or the office of the election commissioners to carefully revise 146
the county voter roll as electronically maintained by the 147
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Statewide Elections Management System and remove from the roll the 148
names of all voters who have requested to be purged from the voter 149
roll, died, received an adjudication of non compos mentis, been 150
convicted of a disenfranchising crime and had his or her right to 151
vote suspended, failed to comply with the provisions of Section 152
23-15-152, or otherwise become disqualified as electors for any 153
cause, and shall register the names of all persons who have duly 154
applied to be registered but have been illegally denied 155
registration: 156
(a) On the Tuesday after the second Monday in January 157
1987 and every following year; 158
(b) On the first Tuesday in the month immediately 159
preceding the first primary election for members of Congress in 160
the years when members of Congress are elected; 161
(c) On the first Monday in the month immediately 162
preceding the first primary election for state, state district 163
legislative, county and county district offices in the years in 164
which those offices are elected; and 165
(d) On the second Monday of September preceding the 166
general election or regular special election day in years in which 167
a general election is not conducted. 168
Except for the names of those voters who are duly qualified 169
to vote in the election, no name shall be permitted to remain in 170
the Statewide Elections Management System; however, no name shall 171
be purged from the Statewide Elections Management System based on 172
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a change in the residence of an elector except in accordance with 173
procedures provided for by the National Voter Registration Act of 174
1993 and as provided in Section 23-15-152. Except as otherwise 175
provided by Section 23-15-573, no person shall vote at any 176
election whose name is not in the county voter roll electronically 177
maintained by the Statewide Elections Management System. 178
(2) Except as provided in this section, and subject to the 179
following annual limitations, the election commissioners shall be 180
entitled to receive a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Ten 181
Dollars ($110.00), to be paid from the county general fund, for 182
every day or period of no less than five (5) hours accumulated 183
over two (2) or more days actually employed in the performance of 184
their duties in the conduct of an election or actually employed in 185
the performance of their duties for the necessary time spent in 186
the revision of the county voter roll as electronically maintained 187
by the Statewide Elections Management System as required in 188
subsection (1) of this section: 189
(a) In counties having less than fifteen thousand 190
(15,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial 191
census, not more than fifty (50) days per year, with no more than 192
fifteen (15) additional days allowed for the conduct of each 193
election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year; 194
(b) In counties having fifteen thousand (15,000) 195
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 196
less than thirty thousand (30,000) residents according to the 197
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latest federal decennial census, not more than seventy-five (75) 198
days per year, with no more than twenty-five (25) additional days 199
allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (1) 200
occurring in any calendar year; 201
(c) In counties having thirty thousand (30,000) 202
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 203
less than seventy thousand (70,000) residents according to the 204
latest federal decennial census, not more than one hundred (100) 205
days per year, with no more than thirty-five (35) additional days 206
allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (l) 207
occurring in any calendar year; 208
(d) In counties having seventy thousand (70,000) 209
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 210
less than ninety thousand (90,000) residents according to the 211
latest federal decennial census, not more than one hundred 212
twenty-five (125) days per year, with no more than forty-five (45) 213
additional days allowed for the conduct of each election in excess 214
of one (1) occurring in any calendar year; 215
(e) In counties having ninety thousand (90,000) 216
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 217
less than one hundred seventy thousand (170,000) residents 218
according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than 219
one hundred fifty (150) days per year, with no more than 220
fifty-five (55) additional days allowed for the conduct of each 221
election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year; 222
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(f) In counties having one hundred seventy thousand 223
(170,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial 224
census but less than two hundred thousand (200,000) residents 225
according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than 226
one hundred seventy-five (175) days per year, with no more than 227
sixty-five (65) additional days allowed for the conduct of each 228
election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year; 229
(g) In counties having two hundred thousand (200,000) 230
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 231
less than two hundred twenty-five thousand (225,000) residents 232
according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than 233
one hundred ninety (190) days per year, with no more than 234
seventy-five (75) additional days allowed for the conduct of each 235
election in excess of one (l) occurring in any calendar year; 236
(h) In counties having two hundred twenty-five thousand 237
(225,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial 238
census but less than two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) 239
residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not 240
more than two hundred fifteen (215) days per year, with no more 241
than eighty-five (85) additional days allowed for the conduct of 242
each election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year; 243
(i) In counties having two hundred fifty thousand 244
(250,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial 245
census but less than two hundred seventy-five thousand (275,000) 246
residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not 247
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more than two hundred thirty (230) days per year, with no more 248
than ninety-five (95) additional days allowed for the conduct of 249
each election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year; 250
(j) In counties having two hundred seventy-five 251
thousand (275,000) residents according to the latest federal 252
decennial census or more, not more than two hundred forty (240) 253
days per year, with no more than one hundred five (105) additional 254
days allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (l) 255
occurring in any calendar year. 256
(3) In addition to the number of days authorized in 257
subsection (2) of this section, the board of supervisors of a 258
county may authorize, in its discretion, the election 259
commissioners to receive a per diem in the amount provided for in 260
subsection (2) of this section, to be paid from the county general 261
fund, for every day or period of no less than five (5) hours 262
accumulated over two (2) or more days actually employed in the 263
performance of their duties in the conduct of an election or 264
actually employed in the performance of their duties for the 265
necessary time spent in the revision of the county voter roll as 266
electronically maintained by the Statewide Elections Management 267
System as required in subsection (1) of this section, not to 268
exceed five (5) days. 269
(4) (a) The election commissioners shall be entitled to 270
receive a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Ten Dollars 271
($110.00), to be paid from the county general fund, not to exceed 272
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ten (10) days for every day or period of no less than five (5) 273
hours accumulated over two (2) or more days actually employed in 274
the performance of their duties for the necessary time spent in 275
the revision of the county voter roll as electronically maintained 276
by the Statewide Elections Management System before any special 277
election. For purposes of this paragraph, the regular special 278
election day shall not be considered a special election. The 279
annual limitations set forth in subsection (2) of this section 280
shall not apply to this paragraph. 281
(b) The election commissioners shall be entitled to 282
receive a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Sixty-five Dollars 283
($165.00), to be paid from the county general fund, for the 284
performance of their duties on the day of any primary, runoff, 285
general or special election; however, the board of supervisors 286
may, in its discretion, pay the election commissioners an 287
additional amount not to exceed Thirty-five Dollars ($35.00) per 288
election. The annual limitations set forth in subsection (2) of 289
this section shall apply to this paragraph. 290
(5) The election commissioners shall be entitled to receive 291
a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Ten Dollars ($110.00), to 292
be paid from the county general fund, not to exceed fourteen (14) 293
days for every day or period of no less than five (5) hours 294
accumulated over two (2) or more days actually employed in the 295
performance of their duties for the necessary time spent in the 296
revision of the county voter roll as electronically maintained by 297
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the Statewide Elections Management System and in the conduct of a 298
runoff election following either a general or special election. 299
(6) The election commissioners shall be entitled to receive 300
only one (1) per diem payment for those days when the election 301
commissioners discharge more than one (1) duty or responsibility 302
on the same day. 303
(7) The election commissioners shall be entitled to receive 304
a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Ten Dollars ($110.00), to 305
be paid from the county general fund, not to exceed five (5) days 306
for every day or period of no less than five (5) hours accumulated 307
over two (2) or more days for those days when the election 308
commissioners shall be required to conduct an audit of an election 309
as provided in Section 23-15-615. 310
(8) In preparation for a municipal primary, runoff, general 311
or special election, the county registrar shall generate and 312
distribute the master voter roll and pollbooks from the Statewide 313
Elections Management System for the municipality located within 314
the county. The municipality shall pay the county registrar for 315
the actual cost of preparing and printing the municipal master 316
voter roll pollbooks. A municipality may secure "read only" 317
access to the Statewide Elections Management System and print its 318
own pollbooks using this information. 319
(9) County election commissioners who perform the duties of 320
an executive committee with regard to the conduct of a primary 321
election under a written agreement authorized by law to be entered 322
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into with an executive committee shall receive per diem as 323
provided for in subsection (2) of this section. The days that 324
county election commissioners are employed in the conduct of a 325
primary election shall be treated the same as days county election 326
commissioners are employed in the conduct of other elections. 327
(10) In addition to any per diem authorized by this section, 328
any election commissioner shall be entitled to the mileage 329
reimbursement rate allowable to federal employees for the use of a 330
privately owned vehicle while on official travel on election day. 331
(11) Every election commissioner shall sign personally a 332
certification setting forth the number of hours actually worked in 333
the performance of the commissioner's official duties and for 334
which the commissioner seeks compensation. The certification must 335
be on a form as prescribed in this subsection. The commissioner's 336
signature is, as a matter of law, made under the commissioner's 337
oath of office and under penalties of perjury. 338
The certification form shall be as follows: 339
COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSIONER 340
PER DIEM CLAIM FORM 341
NAME: ____________________________ COUNTY: _______________ 342
ADDRESS: _________________________ DISTRICT: _____________ 343
CITY: ______________ ZIP: ________ 344
PURPOSE APPLICABLE ACTUAL PER DIEM 345
DATE BEGINNING ENDING OF MS CODE HOURS DAYS 346
WORKED TIME TIME WORK SECTION WORKED EARNED 347
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________________________________________________________________ 348
________________________________________________________________ 349
________________________________________________________________ 350
TOTAL NUMBER OF PER DIEM DAYS EARNED 351
EXCLUDING ELECTION DAYS ________ 352
PER DIEM RATE PER DAY EARNED X $110.00 353
TOTAL NUMBER PER DIEM DAYS EARNED 354
FOR ELECTION DAYS ________ 355
PER DIEM RATE PER DAY EARNED X $165.00 356
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ELECTION DAY 357
DISCRETIONARY ADDITION(S) 358
TO PER DIEM RATE PER DAY EARNED X $35.00 359
TOTAL AMOUNT OF PER DIEM CLAIMED $_______ 360
I understand that I am signing this document under my oath as 361
an election commissioner and under penalties of perjury. 362
I understand that I am requesting payment from taxpayer funds 363
and that I have an obligation to be specific and truthful as to 364
the amount of hours worked and the compensation I am requesting. 365
Signed this the _____ day of ______________, ____. 366
________________________ 367
Commissioner's Signature 368
When properly completed and signed, the certification must be 369
filed with the clerk of the county board of supervisors before any 370
payment may be made. The certification will be a public record 371
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available for inspection and reproduction immediately upon the 372
oral or written request of any person. 373
Any person may contest the accuracy of the certification in 374
any respect by notifying the chair of the commission, any member 375
of the board of supervisors or the clerk of the board of 376
supervisors of the contest at any time before or after payment is 377
made. If the contest is made before payment is made, no payment 378
shall be made as to the contested certificate until the contest is 379
finally disposed of. The person filing the contest shall be 380
entitled to a full hearing, and the clerk of the board of 381
supervisors shall issue subpoenas upon request of the contestor 382
compelling the attendance of witnesses and production of documents 383
and things. The contestor shall have the right to appeal de novo 384
to the circuit court of the involved county, which appeal must be 385
perfected within thirty (30) days from a final decision of the 386
commission, the clerk of the board of supervisors or the board of 387
supervisors, as the case may be. 388
Any contestor who successfully contests any certification 389
will be awarded all expenses incident to his or her contest, 390
together with reasonable attorney's fees, which will be awarded 391
upon petition to the chancery court of the involved county upon 392
final disposition of the contest before the election commission, 393
board of supervisors, clerk of the board of supervisors, or, in 394
case of an appeal, final disposition by the court. The 395
commissioner against whom the contest is decided shall be liable 396
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for the payment of the expenses and attorney's fees, and the 397
county shall be jointly and severally liable for same. 398
(12) Any election commissioner who has not received a 399
certificate issued by the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 400
23-15-211 indicating that the election commissioner has received 401
the required elections seminar instruction and that the election 402
commissioner is fully qualified to conduct an election, shall not 403
receive any compensation authorized by this section or Section 404
23-15-239. 405
SECTION 6. Section 23-15-165, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 406
amended as follows: 407
23-15-165. (1) The Office of the Secretary of State, in 408
cooperation with the county registrars and election commissioners, 409
shall procure, implement and maintain an electronic information 410
processing system and programs capable of maintaining a 411
centralized database of all registered voters in the state. The 412
system shall encompass software and hardware, at both the state 413
and county level, software development training, conversion and 414
support and maintenance for the system. The Secretary of State 415
shall equip the Statewide Elections Management System with 416
appropriate security measures to protect private information of 417
the registered voter and the integrity of Mississippi elections. 418
This system shall be known as the "Statewide Elections Management 419
System" and shall constitute the official record of registered 420
voters in every county of the state. 421
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(2) The Office of the Secretary of State shall develop and 422
implement the Statewide Elections Management System so that the 423
registrar and election commissioners of each county shall: 424
(a) Verify that an applicant that is registering to 425
vote in that county is not registered to vote in another county; 426
(b) Be notified automatically that a registered voter 427
in its county has registered to vote in another county; 428
(c) Receive regular reports of death, changes of 429
address and convictions for disenfranchising crimes, which cause a 430
voter to have his or her right to vote suspended, that apply to 431
voters registered in the county; 432
(d) Receive regular reports of voters who have 433
satisfied all of the sentencing requirements of his or her 434
conviction and automatically restore the voter's name into the 435
Statewide Elections Management System, the state's voter roll and 436
the county's pollbooks; 437
( * * *e) Retain all present functionality related to, 438
but not limited to, the use of voter roll data and to implement 439
such other functionality as the law requires to enhance the 440
maintenance of accurate county voter records and related jury 441
selection and redistricting programs; and 442
( * * *f) When evidence exists that a registered voter 443
may not be a citizen of the United States as provided in Section 444
23-15-15, send notification to the registrar of the location where 445
the person is registered to vote. 446
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(3) As a part of the procurement and implementation of the 447
system, the Office of the Secretary of State shall, with the 448
assistance of the advisory committee, procure services necessary 449
to convert current voter registration records in the counties into 450
a standard, industry accepted file format that can be used on the 451
Statewide Elections Management System. Thereafter, all official 452
voter information shall be maintained on the Statewide Elections 453
Management System. The standard industry accepted format of data 454
was reviewed and approved by a majority of the advisory committee 455
created in subsection (5) of this section after consultation with 456
the Circuit Clerks Association and the format may not be changed 457
without consulting the Circuit Clerks Association. 458
(4) The Secretary of State may, with the assistance of the 459
advisory committee, adopt rules and regulations necessary to 460
administer the Statewide Elections Management System. The rules 461
and regulations shall at least: 462
(a) Provide for the establishment and maintenance of a 463
centralized database for all voter registration information in the 464
state; 465
(b) Provide procedures for integrating data into the 466
centralized database; 467
(c) Provide security to ensure that only the registrar, 468
or his or her designee or other appropriate official, as the law 469
may require, can add information to, delete information from and 470
modify information in the system; 471
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(d) Provide the registrar or his or her designee or 472
other appropriate official, as the law may require, access to the 473
system at all times, including the ability to download copies of 474
the industry standard file, for all purposes related to their 475
official duties, including, but not limited to, exclusive access 476
for the purpose of printing all local pollbooks; 477
(e) Provide security and protection of all information 478
in the system and monitor the system to ensure that unauthorized 479
access is not allowed; 480
(f) Provide a procedure that will allow the registrar, 481
or his or her designee or other appropriate official, as the law 482
may require, to identify the precinct to which a voter should be 483
assigned; and 484
(g) Provide a procedure for phasing in or converting 485
existing manual and computerized voter registration systems in 486
counties to the Statewide Elections Management System. 487
(5) The Secretary of State established an advisory committee 488
to assist in developing system specifications, procurement, 489
implementation and maintenance of the Statewide Elections 490
Management System. The committee included two (2) representatives 491
from the Circuit Clerks Association, appointed by the association; 492
two (2) representatives from the Election Commissioners 493
Association of Mississippi, appointed by the association; one (1) 494
member of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, or its 495
staff, appointed by the association; the Director of the Stennis 496
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Institute of Government at Mississippi State University, or his or 497
her designee; the Executive Director of the Department of 498
Information Technology Services, or his or her designee; two (2) 499
persons knowledgeable about elections and information technology 500
appointed by the Secretary of State; and the Secretary of State, 501
who shall serve as the chair of the advisory committee. 502
(6) (a) Social security numbers, telephone numbers, email 503
addresses, and date of birth and age information in statewide, 504
district, county and municipal voter registration files shall be 505
exempt from and shall not be subject to inspection, examination, 506
copying or reproduction under the Mississippi Public Records Act 507
of 1983. 508
(b) Copies of statewide, district, county or municipal 509
voter registration files, excluding social security numbers, 510
telephone numbers, email addresses, and date of birth and age 511
information, shall be provided to any person in accordance with 512
the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 at a cost not to exceed 513
the actual cost of production. 514
SECTION 7. Section 97-39-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 515
brought forward as follows: 516
97-39-3. If any person shall fight a duel, or give or accept 517
a challenge to fight a duel, or knowingly carry or deliver such 518
challenge or the acceptance thereof, or be second to either party 519
to any duel, whether such act be done in the state or out of it, 520
or who shall go out of the state to fight a duel, or to assist in 521
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the same as second, or to send, accept, or carry a challenge, 522
shall be disqualified from holding any office, be disenfranchised, 523
and incapable of holding or being elected to any post of honor, 524
profit or emolument, civil or military, under the constitution and 525
laws of this state; and the appointment of any such person to 526
office, as also all votes given to any such person, are illegal, 527
and none of the votes given to such person for any office shall be 528
taken or counted. 529
SECTION 8. Section 99-19-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 530
brought forward as follows: 531
99-19-37. (1) Any person who has lost the right of suffrage 532
by reason of conviction of crime and has not been pardoned 533
therefrom, who thereafter served honorably in any branch of the 534
Armed Forces of the United States during the periods of World War 535
I or World War II as hereinafter defined and shall have received 536
an honorable discharge, or release therefrom, shall by reason of 537
such honorable service, have the full right of suffrage restored, 538
provided, however, this does not apply to any one having an 539
unfinished or suspended sentence. 540
(2) For the purposes of this section the period of World War 541
I shall be from April 6, 1917 to December 1, 1918, and the period 542
of World War II shall be from December 7, 1941 to December 31, 543
1946. 544
(3) In order to have restored, and to exercise, the right of 545
franchise under the provisions of this section a person affected 546
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ST: Voting rights; restore upon satisfaction of
all of the sentencing requirements of a
conviction.
hereby shall have his discharge, or release, from the Armed Forces 547
of the United States recorded in the office of the chancery clerk 548
of the county in which such person desires to exercise the right 549
of franchise and if such discharge, or release, appears to be an 550
honorable discharge, or release, and shows such person to have 551
served honorably during either of the periods stated in subsection 552
(2) of this section such person shall have the full right of 553
suffrage restored as though an act had been passed by the 554
Legislature in accordance with Section 253 of the Constitution of 555
the State of Mississippi restoring the right of suffrage to such 556
person. 557
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from 558
and after July 1, 2026. 559