Voting rights; automatically restore for person convicted of disenfranchising crime that is expunged.

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To: Apportionment and
Elections; Judiciary B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Karriem

HOUSE BILL NO. 1423

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 99-19-71, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO CLARIFY THE EFFECT OF EXPUNGEMENT PROCEDURES IN RELATION TO 2
QUALIFIED ELECTORS; TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 3
1972, TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON WHO HAS HAD A DISENFRANCHISING 4
CRIME CONVICTION EXPUNGED, WHO HAS NOT BEEN CONVICTED OF ANY OTHER 5
DISENFRANCHISING CRIME AND WHO MEETS ALL OTHER REQUIREMENTS TO 6
BECOME A QUALIFIED ELECTOR SHALL BE ALLOWED TO REGISTER TO VOTE AS 7
A QUALIFIED ELECTOR; TO AMEND SECTIONS 23-15-151 AND 23-15-19, 8
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE COUNTY REGISTRAR OR 9
ELECTION COMMISSIONER TO AUTOMATICALLY PLACE THE NAME OF A PERSON 10
PREVIOUSLY REGISTERED TO VOTE WHOSE DISENFRANCHISING CRIME WAS 11
EXPUNGED, WHO HAS NOT BEEN CONVICTED OF ANOTHER DISENFRANCHISING 12
CRIME AND WHO IS OTHERWISE AN ELIGIBLE VOTER INTO THE STATEWIDE 13
ELECTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM; TO AMEND SECTIONS 23-15-125, 14
23-15-153, 23-15-165 AND 99-19-37, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 15
CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 16
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 17
SECTION 1. Section 99-19-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 18
amended as follows: 19
99-19-71. (1) Any person who has been convicted of a 20
misdemeanor that is not a traffic violation, and who is a first 21
offender, may petition the justice, county, circuit or municipal 22
court in which the conviction was had for an order to expunge any 23
such conviction from all public records. 24
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(2) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a 25
person who has been convicted of a felony and who has paid all 26
criminal fines and costs of court imposed in the sentence of 27
conviction may petition the court in which the conviction was had 28
for an order to expunge one (1) conviction from all public records 29
five (5) years after the successful completion of all terms and 30
conditions of the sentence for the conviction upon a hearing as 31
determined in the discretion of the court; however, a person is 32
not eligible to expunge a felony classified as: 33
(i) A crime of violence as provided in Section 34
97-3-2; 35
(ii) Arson, first degree as provided in Sections 36
97-17-1 and 97-17-3; 37
(iii) Trafficking in controlled substances as 38
provided in Section 41-29-139; 39
(iv) A third, fourth or subsequent offense DUI as 40
provided in Section 63-11-30(2)(c) and (2)(d); 41
(v) Felon in possession of a firearm as provided 42
in Section 97-37-5; 43
(vi) Failure to register as a sex offender as 44
provided in Section 45-33-33; 45
(vii) Voyeurism as provided in Section 97-29-61; 46
(viii) Witness intimidation as provided in Section 47
97-9-113; 48
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(ix) Abuse, neglect or exploitation of a 49
vulnerable person as provided in Section 43-47-19; or 50
(x) Embezzlement as provided in Sections 97-11-25 51
and 97-23-19. 52
A person is eligible for only one (1) felony expunction under 53
this paragraph. For the purposes of this section, the terms "one 54
(1) conviction" and "one (1) felony expunction" mean and include 55
all convictions that arose from a common nucleus of operative 56
facts as determined in the discretion of the court. 57
(b) The petitioner shall give ten (10) days' written 58
notice to the district attorney before any hearing on the 59
petition. In all cases, the court wherein the petition is filed 60
may grant the petition if the court determines, on the record or 61
in writing, that the applicant is rehabilitated from the offense 62
which is the subject of the petition. In those cases where the 63
court denies the petition, the findings of the court in this 64
respect shall be identified specifically and not generally. 65
(3) Upon entering an order of expunction under this section, 66
a nonpublic record thereof shall be retained by the Mississippi 67
Criminal Information Center solely for the purpose of determining 68
whether, in subsequent proceedings, the person is a first 69
offender. The order of expunction shall not preclude a district 70
attorney's office from retaining a nonpublic record thereof for 71
law enforcement purposes only. The existence of an order of 72
expunction shall not preclude an employer from asking a 73
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prospective employee if the employee has had an order of 74
expunction entered on his behalf. The effect of the expunction 75
order shall be to restore the person, in the contemplation of the 76
law, including those laws regulating qualified electors, to the 77
status he occupied before any arrest or indictment for which 78
convicted. No person as to whom an expunction order has been 79
entered shall be held thereafter under any provision of law to be 80
guilty of perjury or to have otherwise given a false statement by 81
reason of his failure to recite or acknowledge such arrest, 82
indictment or conviction in response to any inquiry made of him 83
for any purpose other than the purpose of determining, in any 84
subsequent proceedings under this section, whether the person is a 85
first offender. A person as to whom an order has been entered, 86
upon request, shall be required to advise the court, in camera, of 87
the previous conviction and expunction in any legal proceeding 88
wherein the person has been called as a prospective juror. The 89
court shall thereafter and before the selection of the jury advise 90
the attorneys representing the parties of the previous conviction 91
and expunction. 92
(4) Upon petition therefor, a justice, county, circuit or 93
municipal court shall expunge the record of any case in which an 94
arrest was made, the person arrested was released and the case was 95
dismissed or the charges were dropped or there was no disposition 96
of such case, or the person was found not guilty at trial. 97
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(5) No public official is eligible for expunction under this 98
section for any conviction related to his official duties. 99
SECTION 2. Section 23-15-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 100
amended as follows: 101
23-15-11. Every inhabitant of this state, except persons 102
adjudicated to be non compos mentis, who is a citizen of the 103
United States of America, eighteen (18) years old and upwards, who 104
has resided in this state for thirty (30) days and for thirty (30) 105
days in the county in which he or she seeks to vote, and for 106
thirty (30) days in the incorporated municipality in which he or 107
she seeks to vote, and who has been duly registered as an elector 108
under Section 23-15-33, and who has * * * not been convicted of 109
vote fraud or of any crime listed in Section 241, Mississippi 110
Constitution of 1890, shall be a qualified elector in and for the 111
county, municipality and voting precinct of his or her residence, 112
and shall be entitled to vote at any election upon compliance with 113
Section 23-15-563. A person whose conviction for a 114
disenfranchising crime has been expunged, who has not been 115
convicted of any other disenfranchising crime and who meets all 116
other requirements to become a qualified elector in this section 117
shall be a qualified elector in and for the county, municipality 118
and voting precinct of his or her residence, and shall be entitled 119
to vote at any election upon compliance with Section 23-15-563. 120
If the thirtieth day to register before an election falls on a 121
Sunday or legal holiday, the registration applications submitted 122
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on the business day immediately following the Sunday or legal 123
holiday shall be accepted and entered in the Statewide Elections 124
Management System for the purpose of enabling voters to vote in 125
the next election. Any person who will be eighteen (18) years of 126
age or older on or before the date of the general election and who 127
is duly registered to vote not less than thirty (30) days before 128
the primary election associated with the general election, may 129
vote in the primary election even though the person has not 130
reached his or her eighteenth birthday at the time that the person 131
seeks to vote at the primary election. No others than those 132
specified in this section shall be entitled, or shall be allowed, 133
to vote at any election. 134
SECTION 3. Section 23-15-151, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 135
amended as follows: 136
23-15-151. The circuit clerk of each county is authorized 137
and directed to prepare and keep in his or her office a full and 138
complete list, in alphabetical order, of persons convicted of 139
voter fraud or of any crime listed in Section 241, Mississippi 140
Constitution of 1890. A certified copy of any enrollment by one 141
clerk to another will be sufficient authority for the enrollment 142
of the name, or names, in another county. A list of such persons 143
convicted of voter fraud, any crime listed in Section 241, 144
Mississippi Constitution of 1890, or any crime interpreted as 145
disenfranchising in later Attorney General opinions, shall also be 146
entered into the Statewide Elections Management System on a 147
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quarterly basis. Voters who have been convicted in a Mississippi 148
state court of any disenfranchising crime that has not been 149
expunged are not qualified electors as defined by Section 23-15-11 150
and shall be purged or otherwise removed by the county registrar 151
or county election commissioners from the Statewide Elections 152
Management System. A person previously registered to vote whose 153
conviction for a disenfranchising crime has been expunged, who has 154
not been convicted of any other disenfranchising crime and who 155
meets all other requirements in Section 23-15-11 as a qualified 156
elector shall be considered a qualified elector. Upon being 157
presented proof of expungement, the county registrar or county 158
election commissioner automatically shall enter the person's name 159
into the Statewide Elections Management System. 160
SECTION 4. Section 23-15-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 161
amended as follows: 162
23-15-19. (1) Any person who has been convicted of vote 163
fraud or any crime listed in Section 241, Mississippi Constitution 164
of 1890, such crimes defined as "disenfranchising," shall not be 165
registered, or if registered the name of the person shall be 166
removed from the Statewide Elections Management System by the 167
registrar or the election commissioners of the county of his or 168
her residence. Whenever any person shall be convicted in the 169
circuit court of his or her county of a disenfranchising crime, 170
the county registrar shall thereupon remove his or her name from 171
the Statewide Elections Management System; and whenever any person 172
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shall be convicted of a disenfranchising crime in any other court 173
of any county, the presiding judge of the court shall, on demand, 174
certify the fact in writing to the registrar of the county in 175
which the voter resides, who shall thereupon remove the name of 176
the person from the Statewide Elections Management System and 177
retain the certificate as a record of his or her office. 178
(2) A person previously registered to vote whose conviction 179
for a disenfranchising crime has been expunged, who has not been 180
convicted of any other disenfranchising crime and who meets all 181
other requirements in Section 23-15-11 as a qualified elector 182
shall be considered a qualified elector. Upon being presented 183
proof of expungement, the county registrar or county election 184
commissioner automatically shall enter the person's name into the 185
Statewide Elections Management System. 186
SECTION 5. Section 23-15-125, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 187
amended as follows: 188
23-15-125. The pollbook of each voting precinct shall 189
designate the voting precinct for which it is to be used, and 190
shall be ruled in appropriate columns, with printed or written 191
headings, as follows: date of registration; voter registration 192
number; name of electors; date of birth; and a number of blank 193
columns for the dates of elections. All qualified applicants who 194
register with the registrar shall be entered in the Statewide 195
Elections Management System. Only the names of those qualified 196
applicants who register within thirty (30) days before an election 197
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shall appear on the pollbooks of the election; however, if the 198
thirtieth day to register before an election falls on a Sunday or 199
legal holiday, the registration applications submitted on the 200
business day immediately following the legal holiday shall be 201
accepted and entered in the Statewide Elections Management System 202
for the purpose of enabling voters to vote in the next election. 203
When county election commissioners determine that any elector is 204
disqualified from voting, by reason of death, conviction of a 205
disenfranchising crime, removal from the jurisdiction, failure to 206
comply with the provisions of Section 23-15-152, or other legal 207
cause, that fact shall be noted in the Statewide Elections 208
Management System and the voter's name shall be purged from the 209
Statewide Elections Management System, the state's voter roll and 210
the county's pollbooks. A person previously registered to vote 211
whose conviction for a disenfranchising crime has been expunged, 212
who has not been convicted of any other disenfranchising crime and 213
who meets all other requirements in Section 23-15-11 as a 214
qualified elector shall be considered eligible to vote. Upon 215
being presented proof of expungement, the county registrar or 216
county election commissioner automatically shall enter the 217
person's name in the Statewide Elections Management System, the 218
state's voter roll and the county's pollbooks. Nothing in this 219
section shall preclude the use of electronic pollbooks. 220
SECTION 6. Section 23-15-153, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 221
amended as follows: 222
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23-15-153. (1) At least during the following times, the 223
election commissioners shall meet at the office of the registrar 224
or the office of the election commissioners to carefully revise 225
the county voter roll as electronically maintained by the 226
Statewide Elections Management System and remove from the roll the 227
names of all voters who have requested to be purged from the voter 228
roll, died, received an adjudication of non compos mentis, been 229
convicted of a disenfranchising crime and had the right to vote 230
suspended, failed to comply with the provisions of Section 231
23-15-152, or otherwise become disqualified as electors for any 232
cause, and shall register the names of all persons who have duly 233
applied to be registered but have been illegally denied 234
registration: 235
(a) On the Tuesday after the second Monday in January 236
1987 and every following year; 237
(b) On the first Tuesday in the month immediately 238
preceding the first primary election for members of Congress in 239
the years when members of Congress are elected; 240
(c) On the first Monday in the month immediately 241
preceding the first primary election for state, state district 242
legislative, county and county district offices in the years in 243
which those offices are elected; and 244
(d) On the second Monday of September preceding the 245
general election or regular special election day in years in which 246
a general election is not conducted. 247
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Except for the names of those voters who are duly qualified 248
to vote in the election, no name shall be permitted to remain in 249
the Statewide Elections Management System; however, no name shall 250
be purged from the Statewide Elections Management System based on 251
a change in the residence of an elector except in accordance with 252
procedures provided for by the National Voter Registration Act of 253
1993 and as provided in Section 23-15-152. Except as otherwise 254
provided by Section 23-15-573, no person shall vote at any 255
election whose name is not in the county voter roll electronically 256
maintained by the Statewide Elections Management System. 257
(2) Except as provided in this section, and subject to the 258
following annual limitations, the election commissioners shall be 259
entitled to receive a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Ten 260
Dollars ($110.00), to be paid from the county general fund, for 261
every day or period of no less than five (5) hours accumulated 262
over two (2) or more days actually employed in the performance of 263
their duties in the conduct of an election or actually employed in 264
the performance of their duties for the necessary time spent in 265
the revision of the county voter roll as electronically maintained 266
by the Statewide Elections Management System as required in 267
subsection (1) of this section: 268
(a) In counties having less than fifteen thousand 269
(15,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial 270
census, not more than fifty (50) days per year, with no more than 271
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fifteen (15) additional days allowed for the conduct of each 272
election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year; 273
(b) In counties having fifteen thousand (15,000) 274
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 275
less than thirty thousand (30,000) residents according to the 276
latest federal decennial census, not more than seventy-five (75) 277
days per year, with no more than twenty-five (25) additional days 278
allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (1) 279
occurring in any calendar year; 280
(c) In counties having thirty thousand (30,000) 281
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 282
less than seventy thousand (70,000) residents according to the 283
latest federal decennial census, not more than one hundred (100) 284
days per year, with no more than thirty-five (35) additional days 285
allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (l) 286
occurring in any calendar year; 287
(d) In counties having seventy thousand (70,000) 288
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 289
less than ninety thousand (90,000) residents according to the 290
latest federal decennial census, not more than one hundred 291
twenty-five (125) days per year, with no more than forty-five (45) 292
additional days allowed for the conduct of each election in excess 293
of one (1) occurring in any calendar year; 294
(e) In counties having ninety thousand (90,000) 295
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 296
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less than one hundred seventy thousand (170,000) residents 297
according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than 298
one hundred fifty (150) days per year, with no more than 299
fifty-five (55) additional days allowed for the conduct of each 300
election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year; 301
(f) In counties having one hundred seventy thousand 302
(170,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial 303
census but less than two hundred thousand (200,000) residents 304
according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than 305
one hundred seventy-five (175) days per year, with no more than 306
sixty-five (65) additional days allowed for the conduct of each 307
election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year; 308
(g) In counties having two hundred thousand (200,000) 309
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 310
less than two hundred twenty-five thousand (225,000) residents 311
according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than 312
one hundred ninety (190) days per year, with no more than 313
seventy-five (75) additional days allowed for the conduct of each 314
election in excess of one (l) occurring in any calendar year; 315
(h) In counties having two hundred twenty-five thousand 316
(225,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial 317
census but less than two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) 318
residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not 319
more than two hundred fifteen (215) days per year, with no more 320
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than eighty-five (85) additional days allowed for the conduct of 321
each election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year; 322
(i) In counties having two hundred fifty thousand 323
(250,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial 324
census but less than two hundred seventy-five thousand (275,000) 325
residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not 326
more than two hundred thirty (230) days per year, with no more 327
than ninety-five (95) additional days allowed for the conduct of 328
each election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year; 329
(j) In counties having two hundred seventy-five 330
thousand (275,000) residents according to the latest federal 331
decennial census or more, not more than two hundred forty (240) 332
days per year, with no more than one hundred five (105) additional 333
days allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (l) 334
occurring in any calendar year. 335
(3) In addition to the number of days authorized in 336
subsection (2) of this section, the board of supervisors of a 337
county may authorize, in its discretion, the election 338
commissioners to receive a per diem in the amount provided for in 339
subsection (2) of this section, to be paid from the county general 340
fund, for every day or period of no less than five (5) hours 341
accumulated over two (2) or more days actually employed in the 342
performance of their duties in the conduct of an election or 343
actually employed in the performance of their duties for the 344
necessary time spent in the revision of the county voter roll as 345
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electronically maintained by the Statewide Elections Management 346
System as required in subsection (1) of this section, not to 347
exceed five (5) days. 348
(4) (a) The election commissioners shall be entitled to 349
receive a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Ten Dollars 350
($110.00), to be paid from the county general fund, not to exceed 351
ten (10) days for every day or period of no less than five (5) 352
hours accumulated over two (2) or more days actually employed in 353
the performance of their duties for the necessary time spent in 354
the revision of the county voter roll as electronically maintained 355
by the Statewide Elections Management System before any special 356
election. For purposes of this paragraph, the regular special 357
election day shall not be considered a special election. The 358
annual limitations set forth in subsection (2) of this section 359
shall not apply to this paragraph. 360
(b) The election commissioners shall be entitled to 361
receive a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Sixty-five Dollars 362
($165.00), to be paid from the county general fund, for the 363
performance of their duties on the day of any primary, runoff, 364
general or special election; however, the board of supervisors 365
may, in its discretion, pay the election commissioners an 366
additional amount not to exceed Thirty-five Dollars ($35.00) per 367
election. The annual limitations set forth in subsection (2) of 368
this section shall apply to this paragraph. 369
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(5) The election commissioners shall be entitled to receive 370
a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Ten Dollars ($110.00), to 371
be paid from the county general fund, not to exceed fourteen (14) 372
days for every day or period of no less than five (5) hours 373
accumulated over two (2) or more days actually employed in the 374
performance of their duties for the necessary time spent in the 375
revision of the county voter roll as electronically maintained by 376
the Statewide Elections Management System and in the conduct of a 377
runoff election following either a general or special election. 378
(6) The election commissioners shall be entitled to receive 379
only one (1) per diem payment for those days when the election 380
commissioners discharge more than one (1) duty or responsibility 381
on the same day. 382
(7) The election commissioners shall be entitled to receive 383
a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Ten Dollars ($110.00), to 384
be paid from the county general fund, not to exceed five (5) days 385
for every day or period of no less than five (5) hours accumulated 386
over two (2) or more days for those days when the election 387
commissioners shall be required to conduct an audit of an election 388
as provided in Section 23-15-615. 389
(8) In preparation for a municipal primary, runoff, general 390
or special election, the county registrar shall generate and 391
distribute the master voter roll and pollbooks from the Statewide 392
Elections Management System for the municipality located within 393
the county. The municipality shall pay the county registrar for 394
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the actual cost of preparing and printing the municipal master 395
voter roll pollbooks. A municipality may secure "read only" 396
access to the Statewide Elections Management System and print its 397
own pollbooks using this information. 398
(9) County election commissioners who perform the duties of 399
an executive committee with regard to the conduct of a primary 400
election under a written agreement authorized by law to be entered 401
into with an executive committee shall receive per diem as 402
provided for in subsection (2) of this section. The days that 403
county election commissioners are employed in the conduct of a 404
primary election shall be treated the same as days county election 405
commissioners are employed in the conduct of other elections. 406
(10) In addition to any per diem authorized by this section, 407
any election commissioner shall be entitled to the mileage 408
reimbursement rate allowable to federal employees for the use of a 409
privately owned vehicle while on official travel on election day. 410
(11) Every election commissioner shall sign personally a 411
certification setting forth the number of hours actually worked in 412
the performance of the commissioner's official duties and for 413
which the commissioner seeks compensation. The certification must 414
be on a form as prescribed in this subsection. The commissioner's 415
signature is, as a matter of law, made under the commissioner's 416
oath of office and under penalties of perjury. 417
The certification form shall be as follows: 418
COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSIONER 419
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PER DIEM CLAIM FORM 420
NAME: ____________________________ COUNTY: _______________ 421
ADDRESS: _________________________ DISTRICT: _____________ 422
CITY: ______________ ZIP: ________ 423
PURPOSE APPLICABLE ACTUAL PER DIEM 424
DATE BEGINNING ENDING OF MS CODE HOURS DAYS 425
WORKED TIME TIME WORK SECTION WORKED EARNED 426
________________________________________________________________ 427
________________________________________________________________ 428
________________________________________________________________ 429
TOTAL NUMBER OF PER DIEM DAYS EARNED 430
EXCLUDING ELECTION DAYS ________ 431
PER DIEM RATE PER DAY EARNED X $110.00 432
TOTAL NUMBER PER DIEM DAYS EARNED 433
FOR ELECTION DAYS ________ 434
PER DIEM RATE PER DAY EARNED X $165.00 435
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ELECTION DAY 436
DISCRETIONARY ADDITION(S) 437
TO PER DIEM RATE PER DAY EARNED X $35.00 438
TOTAL AMOUNT OF PER DIEM CLAIMED $_______ 439
I understand that I am signing this document under my oath as 440
an election commissioner and under penalties of perjury. 441
I understand that I am requesting payment from taxpayer funds 442
and that I have an obligation to be specific and truthful as to 443
the amount of hours worked and the compensation I am requesting. 444
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Signed this the _____ day of ______________, ____. 445
________________________ 446
Commissioner's Signature 447
When properly completed and signed, the certification must be 448
filed with the clerk of the county board of supervisors before any 449
payment may be made. The certification will be a public record 450
available for inspection and reproduction immediately upon the 451
oral or written request of any person. 452
Any person may contest the accuracy of the certification in 453
any respect by notifying the chair of the commission, any member 454
of the board of supervisors or the clerk of the board of 455
supervisors of the contest at any time before or after payment is 456
made. If the contest is made before payment is made, no payment 457
shall be made as to the contested certificate until the contest is 458
finally disposed of. The person filing the contest shall be 459
entitled to a full hearing, and the clerk of the board of 460
supervisors shall issue subpoenas upon request of the contestor 461
compelling the attendance of witnesses and production of documents 462
and things. The contestor shall have the right to appeal de novo 463
to the circuit court of the involved county, which appeal must be 464
perfected within thirty (30) days from a final decision of the 465
commission, the clerk of the board of supervisors or the board of 466
supervisors, as the case may be. 467
Any contestor who successfully contests any certification 468
will be awarded all expenses incident to his or her contest, 469
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together with reasonable attorney's fees, which will be awarded 470
upon petition to the chancery court of the involved county upon 471
final disposition of the contest before the election commission, 472
board of supervisors, clerk of the board of supervisors, or, in 473
case of an appeal, final disposition by the court. The 474
commissioner against whom the contest is decided shall be liable 475
for the payment of the expenses and attorney's fees, and the 476
county shall be jointly and severally liable for same. 477
(12) Any election commissioner who has not received a 478
certificate issued by the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 479
23-15-211 indicating that the election commissioner has received 480
the required elections seminar instruction and that the election 481
commissioner is fully qualified to conduct an election, shall not 482
receive any compensation authorized by this section or Section 483
23-15-239. 484
SECTION 7. Section 23-15-165, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 485
amended as follows: 486
23-15-165. (1) The Office of the Secretary of State, in 487
cooperation with the county registrars and election commissioners, 488
shall procure, implement and maintain an electronic information 489
processing system and programs capable of maintaining a 490
centralized database of all registered voters in the state. The 491
system shall encompass software and hardware, at both the state 492
and county level, software development training, conversion and 493
support and maintenance for the system. The Secretary of State 494
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shall equip the Statewide Elections Management System with 495
appropriate security measures to protect private information of 496
the registered voter and the integrity of Mississippi elections. 497
This system shall be known as the "Statewide Elections Management 498
System" and shall constitute the official record of registered 499
voters in every county of the state. 500
(2) The Office of the Secretary of State shall develop and 501
implement the Statewide Elections Management System so that the 502
registrar and election commissioners of each county shall: 503
(a) Verify that an applicant that is registering to 504
vote in that county is not registered to vote in another county; 505
(b) Be notified automatically that a registered voter 506
in its county has registered to vote in another county; 507
(c) Receive regular reports of death, changes of 508
address and convictions for disenfranchising crimes that cause a 509
voter to have the right to vote suspended, which apply to voters 510
registered in the county; 511
(d) Retain all present functionality related to, but 512
not limited to, the use of voter roll data and to implement such 513
other functionality as the law requires to enhance the maintenance 514
of accurate county voter records and related jury selection and 515
redistricting programs; * * * 516
(e) When evidence exists that a registered voter may 517
not be a citizen of the United States as provided in Section 518
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23-15-15, send notification to the registrar of the location where 519
the person is registered to vote * * *; and 520
(f) Receive regular reports of each voter who has 521
satisfied all of the sentencing requirements of the individual's 522
conviction and automatically restore the voters name into the 523
Statewide Elections Management System, the state's voter roll and 524
the county's pollbooks. 525
(3) As a part of the procurement and implementation of the 526
system, the Office of the Secretary of State shall, with the 527
assistance of the advisory committee, procure services necessary 528
to convert current voter registration records in the counties into 529
a standard, industry accepted file format that can be used on the 530
Statewide Elections Management System. Thereafter, all official 531
voter information shall be maintained on the Statewide Elections 532
Management System. The standard industry accepted format of data 533
was reviewed and approved by a majority of the advisory committee 534
created in subsection (5) of this section after consultation with 535
the Circuit Clerks Association and the format may not be changed 536
without consulting the Circuit Clerks Association. 537
(4) The Secretary of State may, with the assistance of the 538
advisory committee, adopt rules and regulations necessary to 539
administer the Statewide Elections Management System. The rules 540
and regulations shall at least: 541
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(a) Provide for the establishment and maintenance of a 542
centralized database for all voter registration information in the 543
state; 544
(b) Provide procedures for integrating data into the 545
centralized database; 546
(c) Provide security to ensure that only the registrar, 547
or his or her designee or other appropriate official, as the law 548
may require, can add information to, delete information from and 549
modify information in the system; 550
(d) Provide the registrar or his or her designee or 551
other appropriate official, as the law may require, access to the 552
system at all times, including the ability to download copies of 553
the industry standard file, for all purposes related to their 554
official duties, including, but not limited to, exclusive access 555
for the purpose of printing all local pollbooks; 556
(e) Provide security and protection of all information 557
in the system and monitor the system to ensure that unauthorized 558
access is not allowed; 559
(f) Provide a procedure that will allow the registrar, 560
or his or her designee or other appropriate official, as the law 561
may require, to identify the precinct to which a voter should be 562
assigned; and 563
(g) Provide a procedure for phasing in or converting 564
existing manual and computerized voter registration systems in 565
counties to the Statewide Elections Management System. 566
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(5) The Secretary of State established an advisory committee 567
to assist in developing system specifications, procurement, 568
implementation and maintenance of the Statewide Elections 569
Management System. The committee included two (2) representatives 570
from the Circuit Clerks Association, appointed by the association; 571
two (2) representatives from the Election Commissioners 572
Association of Mississippi, appointed by the association; one (1) 573
member of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, or its 574
staff, appointed by the association; the Director of the Stennis 575
Institute of Government at Mississippi State University, or his or 576
her designee; the Executive Director of the Department of 577
Information Technology Services, or his or her designee; two (2) 578
persons knowledgeable about elections and information technology 579
appointed by the Secretary of State; and the Secretary of State, 580
who shall serve as the chair of the advisory committee. 581
(6) (a) Social security numbers, telephone numbers, email 582
addresses, and date of birth and age information in statewide, 583
district, county and municipal voter registration files shall be 584
exempt from and shall not be subject to inspection, examination, 585
copying or reproduction under the Mississippi Public Records Act 586
of 1983. 587
(b) Copies of statewide, district, county or municipal 588
voter registration files, excluding social security numbers, 589
telephone numbers, email addresses, and date of birth and age 590
information, shall be provided to any person in accordance with 591
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the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 at a cost not to exceed 592
the actual cost of production. 593
SECTION 8. Section 99-19-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 594
amended as follows: 595
99-19-37. (1) Any person who has lost the right of suffrage 596
by reason of conviction of crime, has not had such conviction 597
expunged and has not been pardoned therefrom, who thereafter 598
served honorably in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United 599
States during the periods of World War I or World War II as 600
hereinafter defined and shall have received an honorable 601
discharge, or release therefrom, shall by reason of such honorable 602
service, have the full right of suffrage restored, provided, 603
however, this does not apply to any one having an unfinished or 604
suspended sentence. 605
(2) For the purposes of this section the period of World War 606
I shall be from April 6, 1917 to December 1, 1918, and the period 607
of World War II shall be from December 7, 1941 to December 31, 608
1946. 609
(3) In order to have restored, and to exercise, the right of 610
franchise under the provisions of this section a person affected 611
hereby shall have his or her discharge, or release, from the Armed 612
Forces of the United States recorded in the office of the chancery 613
clerk of the county in which such person desires to exercise the 614
right of franchise and if such discharge, or release, appears to 615
be an honorable discharge, or release, and shows such person to 616
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ST: Voting rights; automatically restore for
person convicted of disenfranchising crime that
is expunged.
have served honorably during either of the periods stated in 617
subsection (2) of this section such person shall have the full 618
right of suffrage restored as though an act had been passed by the 619
Legislature in accordance with Section 253 of the Constitution of 620
the State of Mississippi restoring the right of suffrage to such 621
person. 622
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from 623
and after July 1, 2026. 624