Online voter registration; authorize for first-time registrants.

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To: Apportionment and
Elections; Accountability,
Efficiency, Transparency
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Scott

HOUSE BILL NO. 33

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-49, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO AUTHORIZE ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION FOR FIRST-TIME VOTERS; TO 2
AMEND SECTIONS 23-15-13, 23-15-35, 23-15-37, 23-15-39, 23-15-41 3
AND 23-15-79, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE 4
PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 23-15-45, 5
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; 6
AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 8
SECTION 1. Section 23-15-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 9
amended as follows: 10
23-15-49. (1) A person may register to vote under this 11
section if the person is: 12
(a) Eligible to register to vote under Section 13
23-15-11; and 14
(b) Has a current and valid Mississippi driver's 15
license or photo identification card issued by the Mississippi 16
Department of Public Safety. 17
(2) A person described in subsection (1) of this section may 18
submit a voter registration application using the procedures set 19
forth in this section. 20
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( * * *3) (a) The Secretary of State shall, with the 21
support of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, establish 22
a secure Internet website to permit * * * persons described in 23
subsection (1) of this section to submit voter registration 24
applications. The form of the online application must be 25
established by rule duly adopted by the Secretary of State. 26
(b) The secure website established under this 27
subsection must allow a person described in subsection (1) of this 28
section to submit an application: 29
(i) For registration as a first-time voter in 30
Mississippi; or 31
(ii) To change the applicant's name, address or 32
other information set forth in the applicant's existing voter 33
registration record. 34
( * * *c) Upon the * * * submission of an application 35
through the secure website, the software used by the Secretary of 36
State for processing applications through the website shall 37
provide for verification that: 38
(i) The * * * applicant has a current and valid 39
Mississippi driver's license or photo identification card issued 40
by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the number for 41
that driver's license or photo identification card provided by the 42
applicant matches the number for the * * * applicant's driver's 43
license or photo identification card that is on file with the 44
Mississippi Department of Public Safety; 45
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(ii) The name and date of birth provided by 46
the * * * applicant matches the name and date of birth that is on 47
file with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety; and 48
(iii) The applicant is a citizen of the State of 49
Mississippi and of the United States and the information provided 50
by the * * * applicant matches the information on file with the 51
Mississippi Department of Public Safety. 52
The application must be reviewed by the county registrar of 53
the applicant's county of residence. If any of the required 54
information does not match that on file with the Mississippi 55
Department of Public Safety, or if the application is incomplete, 56
the * * * registration shall be rejected with the specific reason 57
or reasons for the rejection noted. The applicant shall have the 58
same right to automatic review of the rejected application as 59
provided in Sections 23-15-61 through 23-15-79 and must be 60
notified of such review as provided in Section 23-15-45. 61
( * * *4) Any person who attempts to * * * register to vote 62
under this section shall be subject to the penalties for false 63
registration provided for in Section 97-13-25. 64
( * * *5) The Secretary of State and the Department of 65
Public Safety shall enter into a memorandum of understanding 66
providing for the sharing of information required to facilitate 67
the requirements of this section. 68
SECTION 2. Section 23-15-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 69
amended as follows: 70
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23-15-13. (1) An elector who moves from one (1) ward or 71
voting precinct to another ward within the same municipality or 72
voting precinct within the same county shall not be disqualified 73
to vote, but he or she shall be entitled to have his or her 74
registration transferred to his or her new ward or voting precinct 75
upon making a written or online request therefor at any time up to 76
thirty (30) days before the election at which he or she offers to 77
vote, and if the removal occurs within thirty (30) days of such 78
election he or she shall be entitled to vote in his or her new 79
ward or voting precinct by affidavit ballot as provided in Section 80
23-15-573. If the thirtieth day to transfer the elector's 81
registration before an election falls on a Sunday or legal 82
holiday, the transfer of the elector's registration submitted on 83
the business day immediately following the Sunday or legal holiday 84
shall be accepted and entered into the Statewide Elections 85
Management System for the purpose of enabling voters to vote in 86
the next election. 87
(2) If an elector requests a change in his or her address 88
under Section 23-15-49 and the address is located in a precinct in 89
the county or municipality that differs from the precinct as 90
reflected in the then current registration records, the request 91
shall be treated in the same manner as a written request to 92
transfer the elector's registration under subsection (1) of this 93
section. 94
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SECTION 3. Section 23-15-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 95
amended as follows: 96
23-15-35. (1) The clerk of the municipality shall be the 97
registrar of voters of the municipality, and shall take the oath 98
of office prescribed by Section 268 of the Constitution. The 99
municipal registration shall conform to the county registration 100
which shall be a part of the official record of registered voters 101
as contained in the Statewide Elections Management System. The 102
municipal clerk shall comply with all the provisions of law 103
regarding the registration of voters, including the use of the 104
voter registration applications used by county registrars and 105
prescribed by the Secretary of State under Sections 23-15-39 and 106
23-15-47 and online voter registration prescribed in Section 107
23-15-49. 108
(2) The municipal clerk shall be authorized to register 109
applicants as county electors. The municipal clerk shall forward 110
notice of registration, a copy of the application for 111
registration, and any changes to the registration when they occur, 112
either by certified mail to the county registrar or by personal 113
delivery to the county registrar provided that a numbered receipt 114
is signed by the county registrar in return for the described 115
documents. Upon receipt of the copy of the application for 116
registration or changes to the registration, and if a review of 117
the application indicates that the applicant meets all the 118
criteria necessary to qualify as a county elector, then the county 119
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registrar shall make a determination of the county voting precinct 120
in which the person making the application shall be required to 121
vote. The county registrar shall send this county voting precinct 122
information by United States first-class mail, postage prepaid, to 123
the person at the address provided on the application. Any 124
mailing costs incurred by the municipal clerk or the county 125
registrar in effectuating this subsection (2) shall be paid by the 126
county board of supervisors. If a review of the copy of the 127
application for registration or changes to the registration 128
indicates that the applicant is not qualified to vote in the 129
county, the county registrar shall challenge the application. The 130
county election commissioners shall review any challenge or 131
disqualification, after having notified the applicant by certified 132
mail of the challenge or disqualification. 133
(3) The municipal clerk shall issue to the person making the 134
application a copy of the application and the county registrar 135
shall process the application in accordance with the law regarding 136
the handling of voter registration applications. 137
(4) The receipt of a copy of the application for 138
registration sent pursuant to Section 23-15-39(3) shall be 139
sufficient to allow the applicant to be registered as an elector 140
in the municipality, provided that such application is not 141
challenged as provided for therein. 142
(5) The municipal clerk of each municipality shall provide 143
the county registrar in which the municipality is located the 144
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information necessary to conform the municipal registration to the 145
county registration which shall be a part of the official record 146
of registered voters as contained in the Statewide Elections 147
Management System. If any changes to the information occur as a 148
result of redistricting, annexation or other reason, it shall be 149
the responsibility of the municipal clerk to timely provide the 150
changes to the county registrar. The location of a polling place 151
shall not be altered within sixty (60) days of any primary, 152
general, runoff or special election unless exigent circumstances 153
exist. If the governing authorities find that exigent 154
circumstances exist where a polling place needs to be altered 155
within sixty (60) days of an election, then their reasons for 156
making that decision shall be spread upon the minutes at their 157
next scheduled meeting. When the location of a polling place is 158
altered within sixty (60) days of an election, public notice of 159
the change shall be posted at city hall, the courthouse, the 160
registrar's office, the previous polling place location if it is a 161
public building, and for three (3) consecutive weeks, or each week 162
before the election if the alteration happens within three (3) 163
weeks of the election, in a newspaper that is circulated in the 164
area. 165
SECTION 4. Section 23-15-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 166
amended as follows: 167
23-15-37. (1) The registrar shall register the electors of 168
his or her county at any time during regular office hours. 169
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(2) The county registrar may keep his or her office open to 170
register voters from 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m., including the noon 171
hour, for the five (5) business days immediately preceding the 172
thirtieth day before any regularly scheduled primary or general 173
election. The county registrar shall also keep his or her office 174
open from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon on the Saturday immediately 175
preceding the thirtieth day before any regularly scheduled primary 176
or general election, unless that Saturday falls on a legal 177
holiday, in which case registration applications submitted on the 178
Monday immediately following the legal holiday shall be accepted 179
and entered in the Statewide Elections Management System for the 180
purpose of enabling such voters to vote in the next primary or 181
general election. 182
(3) The registrar, or any deputy registrar duly appointed by 183
law, may visit and spend such time as he or she may deem necessary 184
at any location in his or her county, selected by the registrar 185
not less than thirty (30) days before an election, for the purpose 186
of registering voters. 187
(4) A person who is physically disabled and unable to visit 188
the office of the registrar to register to vote due to such 189
disability may contact the registrar and request that the 190
registrar or the registrar's deputy visit him or her for the 191
purpose of registering such person to vote. The registrar or the 192
registrar's deputy shall visit that person as soon as possible 193
after such request and provide the person with an application for 194
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registration, if necessary. The completed application for 195
registration shall be executed in the presence of the registrar or 196
the registrar's deputy. 197
(5) (a) In the fall and spring of each year the registrar 198
of each county shall furnish all public schools with instructions 199
for submitting an online voter registration application as well as 200
mail-in voter registration applications. The instructions and 201
applications shall be provided in a reasonable time to enable 202
those students who will be eighteen (18) years of age before a 203
general election to be able to vote in the primary and general 204
elections. 205
(b) Each public school district shall permit access to 206
all public schools of this state for the county registrar or the 207
county registrar's deputy to register persons who are eligible to 208
vote and to provide voter education. 209
SECTION 5. Section 23-15-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 210
amended as follows: 211
23-15-39. (1) Applications for registration as electors of 212
this state, which are submitted online as provided in Section 213
23-15-49 or sworn to and subscribed before the registrar or deputy 214
registrar authorized by law and which are not made by mail, shall 215
be made upon a form established by rule duly adopted by the 216
Secretary of State. 217
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(2) The boards of supervisors shall make proper allowances 218
for office supplies reasonably necessitated by the registration of 219
county electors. 220
(3) If the applicant indicates on the application that he or 221
she resides within the city limits of a city or town in the county 222
of registration, the county registrar shall process the 223
application for registration or changes to the registration as 224
provided by law. 225
(4) If the applicant indicates on the application that he or 226
she has previously registered to vote in another county of this 227
state or another state, notice to the voter's previous county of 228
registration in this state shall be provided by the Statewide 229
Elections Management System. If the voter's previous place of 230
registration was in another state, notice shall be provided to the 231
voter's previous state of residence if the Statewide Elections 232
Management System has that capability. 233
(5) The county registrar shall provide to the person making 234
the application a copy of the application upon which has been 235
written the county voting precinct and municipal voting precinct, 236
if any, in which the person shall vote. Upon entry of the voter 237
registration information into the Statewide Elections Management 238
System, the system shall assign a voter registration number to the 239
person, and the county registrar shall mail the applicant a voter 240
registration card to the mailing address provided on the 241
application. 242
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(6) Any person desiring * * * to apply for registration may 243
apply through the online voter registration process established in 244
Section 23-15-49 or may secure an application from the registrar 245
of the county of which he or she is a resident and may take the 246
application with him or her and secure assistance in completing 247
the application from any person of the applicant's choice. It 248
shall be the duty of all registrars to furnish applications for 249
registration to all persons requesting them, and it shall likewise 250
be the registrar's duty to furnish aid and assistance in the 251
completing of the application when requested by an applicant. 252
Unless the application for registration is completed online, the 253
application for registration shall be sworn to and subscribed 254
before the registrar or deputy registrar at the municipal clerk's 255
office, the county registrar's office or any other location where 256
the applicant is allowed to register to vote. The registrar shall 257
not charge a fee or cost to the applicant for accepting the 258
application or administering the oath or for any other duty 259
imposed by law regarding the registration of electors. 260
(7) If the person making the application is unable to read 261
or write, for reason of disability or otherwise, he or she shall 262
not be required to personally complete the application in writing 263
and execute the oath. In such cases, the registrar or deputy 264
registrar shall read the application and oath to the person and 265
the person's answers thereto shall be recorded by the registrar or 266
the registrar's deputy. The person shall be registered as an 267
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elector if he or she otherwise meets the requirements to be 268
registered as an elector. The registrar shall record the 269
responses of the person and the recorded responses shall be 270
retained permanently by the registrar. The county registrar shall 271
enter the voter registration information into the Statewide 272
Elections Management System and designate the entry as an assisted 273
filing. 274
(8) The receipt of a copy of the application for 275
registration sent pursuant to Section 23-15-35(2) shall be 276
sufficient to allow the applicant to be registered as an elector 277
of this state, if the application is not challenged. 278
(9) In any case in which the corporate boundaries of a 279
municipality change, whether by annexation or redistricting, the 280
municipal clerk shall, within ten (10) days after approval of the 281
change in corporate boundaries, provide to the county registrar 282
conforming geographic data that is compatible with the Statewide 283
Elections Management System. The data shall be developed by the 284
municipality's use of a standardized format specified by the 285
Statewide Elections Management System. The county registrar, 286
county election commissioner or other county official, who has 287
completed an annual training seminar sponsored by the Secretary of 288
State pertaining to the implementation of new boundary lines in 289
the Statewide Elections Management System and received 290
certification for that training, shall update the municipal 291
boundary information into the Statewide Elections Management 292
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System. The Statewide Elections Management System updates the 293
municipal voter registration records and assigns electors to their 294
municipal voting precincts. The county registrar shall forward to 295
the municipal clerk written notification of the additions and 296
changes, and the municipal clerk shall forward to the affected 297
municipal electors written notification of the additions and 298
changes. 299
SECTION 6. Section 23-15-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 300
amended as follows: 301
23-15-41. (1) When an applicant to register to vote has 302
completed the application form as prescribed by administrative 303
rule or Section 23-15-49, the county registrar shall enter the 304
applicant's information into the Statewide Elections Management 305
System where the applicant's status will be marked as "ACTIVE," 306
"PENDING" or "REJECTED," and the applicant shall be entitled to 307
register upon his or her request for registration made online as 308
provided in Section 23-15-49 or in person to the registrar, or 309
deputy registrar if a deputy registrar has been appointed. No 310
person other than the registrar, or a deputy registrar, shall 311
register any applicant. 312
(2) If an applicant is not qualified to register to vote, 313
then the registrar shall enter the applicant's information into 314
the Statewide Elections Management System and mark the applicant's 315
status as "PENDING" or "REJECTED," with the specific reason or 316
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reasons for that status noted. The registrar shall notify the 317
election commission of those applicants rejected. 318
SECTION 7. Section 23-15-79, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 319
amended as follows: 320
23-15-79. (1) Unless the application for registration was 321
made pursuant to Section 23-15-47 or Section 23-15-49, the date of 322
registration to vote shall be the date the application for 323
registration to vote was initially received by the registrar or, 324
if submitted by mail, the postmark date, regardless of the date on 325
which the county election commission, circuit court or Supreme 326
Court, as the case may be, makes its final determination allowing 327
the registration. 328
(2) In the case of an application for registration that has 329
been made pursuant to Section 23-15-47, the date of registration 330
to vote shall be the date the complete and legible application 331
form is received by the county registrar, or, if mailed, the 332
postmark date of the complete and legible application. 333
(3) In the case of an application for registration which has 334
been made pursuant to Section 23-15-49, the date of registration 335
to vote is the date the completed application is submitted to the 336
secure Internet website established in Section 23-15-49. 337
SECTION 8. Section 23-15-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 338
brought forward as follows: 339
23-15-45. In the event that registration is denied pending 340
automatic review by the county election commissioners, the 341
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ST: Online voter registration; authorize for
first-time registrants.
registrar shall immediately inform the applicant that the 342
registration is denied and advise the applicant of the date, time 343
and place of the next meeting of the county election 344
commissioners, at which time the applicant may present such 345
evidence either in person or in writing as he deems pertinent to 346
the question of residency. 347
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from 348
and after July 1, 2026. 349