Mississippi Voter Protection Act; create.

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To: Apportionment and
Elections
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Osborne

HOUSE BILL NO. 376

AN ACT TO CREATE THE "MISSISSIPPI VOTER PROTECTION ACT"; TO 1
CREATE BANS ON VOTER INTIMIDATION AND VOTER SUPPRESSION; TO CREATE 2
A VOTER'S BILL OF RIGHTS AND REQUIRE TO BE POSTED AT EVERY POLLING 3
PLACE, TO BE INCLUDED WITH EVERY DISTRIBUTION OF OFFICIAL SAMPLE 4
BALLOTS AND TO BE OFFERED TO VOTERS AT POLLING PLACES; TO REQUIRE 5
THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO CREATE A MANUAL OF UNIFORM POLLING PLACE 6
PROCEDURES AND ADOPT THE MANUAL BY REGULATION; TO BRING FORWARD 7
SECTIONS 97-13-37 AND 97-13-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE 8
PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 9
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 10
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 11
"Mississippi Voter Protection Act." 12
SECTION 2. (1) The Legislature finds that: 13
(a) Mississippi has a history of voter suppression and 14
discrimination. Recent elections have exposed serious flaws in 15
our nation's voting systems. Across the nation, millions of 16
registered voters who wanted to vote were turned away or 17
discouraged from voting due to voter intimidation and suppression 18
tactics, as well as through communications failures and mistakes. 19
(b) In Mississippi, it is the policy to encourage as 20
many registered voters as possible to vote and it is the policy of 21
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the State of Mississippi to discourage anyone from using any means 22
to intimidate registered voters in an effort to prevent them from 23
casting a legal vote. 24
(c) In order to protect the right to vote for all its 25
citizens, it is the intention of this legislation to ban voter 26
intimidation and voter suppression, establish a voter's bill of 27
rights, and provide election officials and voters a manual of 28
election procedures. 29
(2) This law is enacted to protect and enhance the most 30
basic right in a democracy, that all qualified adults are 31
guaranteed the right to vote. 32
SECTION 3. (1) The following words and phrases shall have 33
the meanings as defined in this section unless the context clearly 34
indicates otherwise: 35
(a) "Board" means the State Board of Election 36
Commissioners. 37
(b) "Election" means any federal, state or local 38
election held in the state. 39
(c) "Local election supervisor" means a person or group 40
of persons directing the conduct of elections for any city or 41
county. 42
(d) "Election official" means a person or group of 43
persons directing the conduct of elections at the precinct, county 44
or statewide level. 45
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(2) (a) Voter intimidation. A person is guilty of voter 46
intimidation if he or she uses or threatens force, violence or any 47
tactic of coercion or intimidation to induce or compel any other 48
person to: 49
(i) Vote or refrain from voting; 50
(ii) Vote or refrain from voting for any 51
particular candidate or ballot measure; or 52
(iii) Refrain from registering to vote. 53
(b) Voter suppression. A person is guilty of voter 54
suppression if he or she knowingly attempts to prevent or deter 55
another person from voting or registering to vote based on 56
fraudulent, deceptive or spurious grounds or information. Voter 57
suppression includes, but is not limited to, the following: 58
(i) Challenging another person's right to register 59
to vote or to vote based on knowingly false information; 60
(ii) Attempting to induce another person to 61
refrain from registering to vote or voting by providing that 62
person with knowingly false information; or 63
(iii) Attempting to induce another person to 64
refrain from registering to vote or voting at the proper place or 65
time by providing that person with knowingly false information 66
about the date, time, place or manner of the election. 67
(3) (a) Voter's bill of rights. Local election officials 68
shall post a voter's bill of rights at every polling place, 69
include it with every distribution of official sample ballots and 70
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offer it to voters at polling places, in accordance with 71
procedures approved by the board. The text of this document shall 72
be: 73
"VOTER'S BILL OF RIGHTS 74
Every registered voter in this state has the right to: 75
1. Inspect a sample ballot before voting. 76
2. Cast a ballot if he or she is in line when 77
the polls are closing. 78
3. Ask for and receive assistance in voting, 79
including assistance in languages other than English where 80
required by federal or state law. 81
4. Receive a replacement ballot if he or she 82
makes a mistake before the ballot is cast, where paper ballots are 83
used. 84
5. Cast an affidavit ballot if his or her 85
eligibility to vote is in question. 86
6. Vote free from coercion or intimidation by 87
election officials or any other person. 88
7. Cast a ballot using voting equipment that 89
accurately counts all votes." 90
(b) In any political subdivision or precinct where 91
federal or state law requires the ballot to be made available in a 92
language other than English, the voter's bill of rights will also 93
be made available in such language or languages. 94
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(3) The Secretary of State shall create a manual of uniform 95
polling place procedures and adopt the manual by regulation. 96
Local election officials shall ensure that the manuals are 97
available in hard copy or electronic format at every precinct in 98
the officials' jurisdictions on election day. The manual will 99
guide local election officials in the proper implementation of 100
election laws and procedures. The manual will be indexed by 101
subject and written in clear, unambiguous language. The manual 102
will provide specific examples of common problems encountered at 103
the polls on election day, and detail specific procedures for 104
resolving those problems. The manual will include, but not be 105
limited to, the following: 106
(a) Regulations governing solicitation by individuals 107
and groups at the polling place. 108
(b) Procedures to be followed with respect to voters 109
whose names are not on the precinct register. 110
(c) Proper operation of the voting system. 111
(d) Ballot handling procedures. 112
(e) Procedures governing spoiled ballots. 113
(f) Procedures to be followed after the polls close. 114
(g) Rights of voters at the polls. 115
(h) Procedures for handling emergency situations. 116
(i) Procedures for handling and processing provisional 117
ballots. 118
(j) Security procedures. 119
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(4) (a) Whoever commits voter intimidation or conspires to 120
commit voter intimidation will be guilty of a felony, punishable 121
by up to three (3) years in prison and a fine of up to One Hundred 122
Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00). 123
(b) Whoever commits voter suppression or conspires to 124
commit voter suppression will be guilty of a felony, punishable by 125
up to two (2) years in prison and a fine of up to Fifty Thousand 126
Dollars ($50,000.00). 127
(c) Any person who willfully violates any other part of 128
this section will be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 129
one (1) year in prison, a fine of up to Ten Thousand Dollars 130
($10,000.00), or both. 131
(d) The Secretary of State shall promulgate rules and 132
regulations as necessary to enforce this section. 133
(e) In addition to criminal and regulatory sanctions, 134
this section may be enforced by a private cause of action as 135
otherwise provided by law. In a successful action, the court 136
shall award the plaintiff costs and attorney's fees. 137
SECTION 4. Section 97-13-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 138
brought forward as follows: 139
97-13-37. Whoever shall procure, or endeavor to procure, the 140
vote of any elector, or the influence of any person over other 141
electors, at any election, for himself or any candidate, by means 142
of violence, threats of violence, or threats of withdrawing 143
custom, or dealing in business or trade, or of enforcing the 144
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ST: Mississippi Voter Protection Act; create.
payment of a debt, or of bringing a suit or criminal prosecution, 145
or by any other threat or injury to be inflicted by him, or by his 146
means, or shall violate any provision of Section 23-15-871 or 147
23-15-874, shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned in the county 148
jail not more than one (1) year, or be fined not more than Three 149
Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00), or both. 150
SECTION 5. Section 97-13-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 151
brought forward as follows: 152
97-13-39. (1) If any person shall, by illegal force, or 153
threats of force, prevent, or endeavor to prevent, any elector 154
from giving his vote, he shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned in 155
the county jail not more than one (1) year, or be fined not more 156
than Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00), or both. 157
(2) If any person shall, utilize the requirements to provide 158
voter identification to intimidate a voter, or to prevent a person 159
from voting who is otherwise qualified to vote shall, upon 160
conviction, be imprisoned in the State Penitentiary not more than 161
five (5) years, or fined not more than Five Thousand Dollars 162
($5,000.00), or both. 163
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from 164
and after July 1, 2028. 165