Voting rights; restore to all felons after satisfying all of the sentencing requirements of the conviction.

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To: Judiciary B;
Constitution
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Arnold

HOUSE BILL NO. 284

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