Candidate qualifications; require all candidates running for elected offices in Mississippi be natural born US citizens.

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To: Elections
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Blackwell, Younger

SENATE BILL NO. 2049

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 69-1-1, 65-1-3, 25-31-1, 23-15-300, 1
19-21-103, 19-3-3, 37-5-1, 21-3-9, 21-5-5, 23-15-309, 37-7-201, 2
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THAT ELECTED OFFICIALS IN THE 3
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE 4
COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE, TRANSPORTATION 5
COMMISSIONERS, DISTRICT ATTORNEYS, SHERIFFS, CHANCERY CLERKS, 6
CIRCUIT CLERKS, TAX ASSESSORS, TAX COLLECTORS, COUNTY COURT 7
JUDGES, COUNTY ATTORNEYS, SURVEYORS, CORONERS, SUPERVISORS, 8
JUSTICE COURT JUDGES, CONSTABLES, ELECTION COMMISSIONERS, SCHOOL 9
BOARD MEMBERS, LEVEE COMMISSIONERS, MAYORS, ALDERMEN, COUNCILMEN, 10
MUNICIPAL OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF MUNICIPAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES, 11
TO BE NATURAL BORN CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES; AND FOR RELATED 12
PURPOSES. 13
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 14
SECTION 1. Section 69-1-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 15
amended as follows: 16
69-1-1. (1) A Department of Agriculture and Commerce is 17
created and established under the management and control of a 18
public officer to be known as the Commissioner of Agriculture and 19
Commerce, who shall have competent knowledge of agriculture, 20
mining, manufacturing, statistics and general industries, must be 21
an experienced and practical agriculturist; must be a natural born 22
citizen of the United States and a resident of the state for five 23
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(5) years immediately preceding the day of election; and shall be 24
elected by the people at the time and in the manner that other 25
state officers are elected. 26
(2) The residency requirements specified under this section 27
shall apply to elections held from and after January 1, 2020. 28
SECTION 2. Section 65-1-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 29
amended as follows: 30
65-1-3. There shall be a State Highway Commission which 31
shall consist of three (3) members, one (1) from each of the three 32
(3) Supreme Court Districts of the state. Only qualified electors 33
who are natural born citizens of the United States and citizens of 34
the Supreme Court District in which he or she seeks election for 35
five (5) years immediately preceding the day of the election shall 36
be eligible for such office; however, the five-year citizen 37
requirement shall apply to elections held from and after January 38
1, 2020. 39
On Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the year 40
1951, and every four (4) years thereafter, State Highway 41
Commissioners shall be elected at the same time and in the same 42
manner as the Governor is chosen; and the laws governing primary 43
elections and the holding of general elections in this state shall 44
apply to and govern the nomination and election of State Highway 45
Commissioners. The State Highway Commissioners so elected shall 46
enter upon the discharge of the duties of their respective offices 47
on the first Monday of January in the year next succeeding the 48
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date of their election, and they shall serve for a term of four 49
(4) years and until their successors shall have been duly elected 50
and qualified. 51
If any one or more of the State Highway Commissioners elected 52
under the provisions of this chapter shall die, resign or be 53
removed from office, the Governor shall fill the vacancy by 54
appointment for the unexpired term, provided such unexpired term 55
shall not exceed twelve (12) months. If such unexpired term shall 56
exceed twelve (12) months, the Governor shall, within fifteen (15) 57
days from the date of such vacancy, by proclamation duly made, 58
call an election in the Supreme Court District in which such 59
vacancy exists, to be held within sixty (60) days from the date of 60
the issuance of such proclamation, at which election a State 61
Highway Commissioner shall be elected to fill such vacancy for the 62
remaining portion of such unexpired term. Such special election 63
shall be held in the manner provided for holding general elections 64
in this state, as far as practicable. 65
Each of said State Highway Commissioners, before entering 66
upon the discharge of the duties of his or her office, shall take 67
and subscribe the oath of office required of other state officials 68
and shall execute bond in the sum of Fifty Thousand Dollars 69
($50,000.00), with some surety company authorized to do business 70
in this state as surety, conditioned for the faithful performance 71
of the duties of his or her office and for the faithful and true 72
accounting of all funds or monies or property coming into his or 73
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her hands by virtue of his or her office, and conditioned further 74
that all such funds, monies and property will be expended and used 75
by him or her only for purposes authorized by law, said bond to be 76
approved by the Governor or Attorney General and to be filed in 77
the Office of the Secretary of State. The premium on such bonds 78
shall be paid out of the funds of the Mississippi Department of 79
Transportation. 80
From and after July 1, 1992, the State Highway Commission 81
shall be the Mississippi Transportation Commission and the members 82
thereof shall be the Mississippi Transportation Commissioners. 83
SECTION 3. Section 25-31-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 84
amended as follows: 85
25-31-1. (1) The district attorney shall possess all the 86
qualifications of county officers and, in addition thereto, shall 87
be a natural born citizen of the United States and a resident of 88
the district in which he or she seeks election for five (5) years 89
immediately preceding the day of the election, shall be a regular 90
licensed and practicing attorney, and shall have been duly 91
admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the State of 92
Mississippi for a period of two (2) years. 93
(2) The residency requirements specified under this section 94
shall apply to elections held from and after January 1, 2020. 95
SECTION 4. Section 23-15-300, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 96
amended as follows: 97
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23-15-300. (1) Any candidate for any municipal, county or 98
county district office shall be a natural born citizen of the 99
United States and a resident of the municipality, county, county 100
district or other territory that he or she seeks to represent in 101
such office for two (2) years immediately preceding the day of 102
election. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any 103
municipality with less than one thousand (1,000) residents 104
according to the latest federal decennial census. 105
(2) A candidate shall prove in his or her qualifying 106
information that he or she meets the applicable residency 107
requirement or provide absolute proof, subject to no 108
contingencies, that he or she will meet the residency requirement 109
on or before the date of the election at which the candidate could 110
be elected to office. The appropriate election official or 111
executive committee, whichever is applicable, with whom a 112
candidate files qualifying information shall review and determine 113
whether the candidate meets the applicable residency requirement 114
according to the procedures in Section 23-15-299. The appropriate 115
election commission shall review and determine whether a candidate 116
required to file qualifying information with it meets the 117
applicable residency requirement according to the procedures in 118
Section 23-15-359. 119
(3) If the qualifications for an elected office include a 120
specific residency requirement, the residency requirement in this 121
section shall not apply. 122
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(4) This section shall apply to elections held from and 123
after January 1, 2020. 124
SECTION 5. Section 19-21-103, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 125
amended as follows: 126
19-21-103. (1) Beginning with the 1987 general election and 127
thereafter, each candidate for the elected office of coroner 128
shall, as a minimum, possess a high school graduation diploma or 129
its equivalent, be twenty-one (21) years of age or older, be a 130
natural born citizen of the United States and be a qualified 131
elector of the county in which elected. 132
(2) The minimum education requirements of subsection (1) of 133
this section and subsection (1) of Section 41-61-57 shall not 134
apply to any coroner holding office on July 1, 1986, who is 135
reelected in the 1987 general election and thereafter, as long as 136
such coroner maintains continuous active service as county medical 137
examiner or county medical examiner investigator. However, all 138
other portions of subsection (1) of Section 41-61-57 shall apply 139
to such coroners. 140
SECTION 6. Section 19-3-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 141
amended as follows: 142
19-3-3. A person shall not be a member of the board of 143
supervisors who is not a natural born citizen of the United 144
States, a resident freeholder in the district for which he or she 145
is chosen, and the owner of real estate of the value of One 146
Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00). 147
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SECTION 7. Section 37-5-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 148
amended as follows: 149
37-5-1. (1) There is hereby established a county board of 150
education in each county of the State of Mississippi. Said county 151
board of education shall consist of five (5) members, one (1) of 152
which, subject to the further provisions of this chapter and 153
except as is otherwise provided in Section 37-5-1(2), shall be 154
elected by the qualified electors of each board of education 155
district of the county. Except as is otherwise provided in 156
Section 37-5-3, each member so elected shall be a natural born 157
citizen of the United States and a resident and qualified elector 158
of the district from which he or she is elected. 159
(2) The county board of education shall apportion the county 160
school district into five (5) single member board of education 161
districts. The county board of education shall place upon its 162
minutes the boundaries determined for the new five (5) board of 163
education districts. The board of education of said county shall 164
thereafter publish the same in some newspaper of general 165
circulation within said county for at least three (3) consecutive 166
weeks and after having given notice of publication and recording 167
the same upon the minutes of the board of education of said 168
county, said new district lines will thereafter be effective. The 169
board of education of said county shall reapportion the board of 170
education districts in accordance with the procedure described 171
herein for the original apportionment of districts as soon as 172
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practicable after the results of the 2000 decennial census are 173
published and as soon as practicable after every decennial census 174
thereafter. 175
(3) In counties where the Office of "Administrative 176
Superintendent" as defined in Section 37-6-3, Mississippi Code of 177
1972, has been abolished, there shall be no county board of 178
education. 179
SECTION 8. Section 21-3-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 180
amended as follows: 181
21-3-9. The mayor and members of the board of aldermen shall 182
be natural born citizens of the United States and qualified 183
electors of the municipality and, in addition, the aldermen 184
elected from and by wards shall be residents of their respective 185
wards. 186
SECTION 9. Section 21-5-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 187
amended as follows: 188
21-5-5. The mayor and councilmen (or commissioners) of all 189
cities operated under the commission form of government shall be 190
elected from the city at large, but the municipal authorities may 191
establish as many wards and as many voting precincts in each ward 192
as may be necessary or desirable. No person shall be eligible to 193
the office of mayor or councilman unless he or she is a natural 194
born citizen of the United States, a qualified elector of such 195
city and shall have been a bona fide resident thereof for a period 196
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of at least one (1) year next preceding the date of the 197
commencement of his or her term of office. 198
In the event the council should ordain that the councilmen 199
posts shall be separated, as provided in Section 21-5-11, such 200
post shall be so separated for election purposes and persons 201
seeking the office of councilman shall qualify and seek election 202
for a specific post, as designated by ordinance, and each post 203
shall be voted on separately by the qualified electors of the 204
municipality voting in said election. 205
In the event there should be but one (1) candidate for one 206
(1) of such election posts, or only one (1) candidate for each of 207
such posts, then such candidate or candidates shall be declared to 208
be elected. 209
SECTION 10. Section 23-15-309, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 210
amended as follows: 211
23-15-309. (1) Nominations for all municipal officers which 212
are elective shall be made at a primary election, or elections, to 213
be held in the manner prescribed by law. All persons desiring to 214
be candidates for the nomination in the primary elections shall 215
first pay Ten Dollars ($10.00) to the clerk of the municipality, 216
at least sixty (60) days before the first primary election, no 217
later than 5:00 p.m. on such deadline day. If the sixtieth day to 218
file the fee and written statement before an election falls on a 219
Sunday or legal holiday, the fees and written statements submitted 220
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on the business day immediately following the Sunday or legal 221
holiday shall be accepted. 222
(2) The fee paid pursuant to subsection (1) of this section 223
shall be accompanied by a written statement containing the name 224
and address of the candidate, the party with which he or she is 225
affiliated, the email address of the candidate, if any, and the 226
office for which he or she is a candidate. 227
(3) The clerk shall promptly receipt the payment, stating 228
the office for which the person making the payment is running and 229
the political party with which such person is affiliated. The 230
clerk shall keep an itemized account in detail showing the time 231
and date of the receipt of such payment received by him or her, 232
from whom such payment was received, the party with which such 233
person is affiliated and for what office the person paying the fee 234
is a candidate. No candidate may attempt to qualify with any 235
political party that does not have a duly organized municipal 236
executive committee, and the municipal clerk shall not accept any 237
assessments made pursuant to subsection (1) if the municipal clerk 238
does not have contact information for the secretary of the 239
municipal executive committee for that political party. The clerk 240
shall promptly supply all necessary information and pay over all 241
fees so received to the secretary of the proper municipal 242
executive committee. The funds may be used and disbursed in the 243
same manner as is allowed in Section 23-15-299 in regard to other 244
executive committees. 245
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(4) Upon receipt of the above information, the proper 246
municipal executive committee shall then determine, at the time of 247
the qualifying deadline, whether each candidate is a natural born 248
citizen of United States, a qualified elector of the municipality, 249
and of the ward if the office sought is a ward office, shall 250
determine whether each candidate either meets all other 251
qualifications to hold the office he or she is seeking or presents 252
absolute proof that he or she will, subject to no contingencies, 253
meet all qualifications on or before the date of the general or 254
special election at which he or she could be elected to office. 255
The executive committee shall determine whether the candidate has 256
taken the steps necessary to qualify for more than one (1) office 257
at the election. The committee also shall determine whether any 258
candidate has been convicted of any felony in a court of this 259
state, or has been convicted on or after December 8, 1992, of any 260
offense in another state which is a felony under the laws of this 261
state, or has been convicted of any felony in a federal court on 262
or after December 8, 1992. Excepted from the above are 263
convictions of manslaughter and violations of the United States 264
Internal Revenue Code or any violations of the tax laws of this 265
state unless such offense also involved misuse or abuse of his or 266
her office or money coming into his or her hands by virtue of the 267
office. If the proper municipal executive committee finds that a 268
candidate either (a) does not meet all qualifications to hold the 269
office he or she seeks and fails to provide absolute proof, 270
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subject to no contingencies, that he or she will meet the 271
qualifications on or before the date of the general or special 272
election at which he or she could be elected, or (b) has been 273
convicted of a felony as described in this subsection and not 274
pardoned, then the executive committee shall notify the candidate 275
and give the candidate an opportunity to be heard. The executive 276
committee shall mail notice to the candidate at least three (3) 277
business days before the hearing to the address provided by the 278
candidate on the qualifying forms, and the committee shall attempt 279
to contact the candidate by telephone, email and facsimile if the 280
candidate provided this information on the forms. If the 281
candidate fails to appear at the hearing or to prove he or she 282
meets all qualifications to hold the office subject to no 283
contingencies, then the name of such candidate shall not be placed 284
upon the ballot. If the executive committee determines that the 285
candidate has taken the steps necessary to qualify for more than 286
one (1) office at the election, the action required by Section 287
23-15-905, shall be taken. 288
(5) Where there is but one (1) candidate, the proper 289
municipal executive committee when the time has expired within 290
which the names of candidates shall be furnished shall declare 291
such candidate the nominee. 292
SECTION 11. Section 37-7-201, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 293
amended as follows: 294
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ST: Candidate qualifications; require all
candidates running for elected offices in
Mississippi be natural born US citizens.
37-7-201. In order for a person to be eligible to hold the 295
office of trustee of any school district, such person must be a 296
natural born citizen of the United States, a bona fide resident 297
and a qualified elector of such school district, and, in the case 298
of a school district lying in two (2) or more counties, but not 299
including municipal separate school districts, such person must be 300
a natural born citizen of the United States, a bona fide resident 301
and a qualified elector of the territory entitled to such 302
representation on the board. 303
SECTION 12. This act shall take effect and be in force from 304
and after July 1, 2026. 305