Suffrage; restore to any person disqualified by reason of criminal conviction upon completion of sentence.

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To: Elections; Judiciary,
Division B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Blackmon

SENATE BILL NO. 2051

AN ACT TO RESTORE THE RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE TO ANY PERSON 1
DISQUALIFIED BY REASON OF CRIMINAL CONVICTION UPON COMPLETION OF 2
SENTENCE; TO AMEND SECTIONS 23-15-11, 23-15-19, 23-15-47 AND 3
23-15-213, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND 4
FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 6
SECTION 1. (1) The right of suffrage is hereby fully and 7
completely restored to any person disqualified by reason of 8
criminal conviction upon sentence completion. 9
(2) "Sentence" is defined as, and limited to, the term of 10
incarceration, probation and parole for a disqualifying 11
conviction. 12
SECTION 2. Section 23-15-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 13
amended as follows: 14
23-15-11. Every inhabitant of this state, except persons 15
adjudicated to be non compos mentis, who is a citizen of the 16
United States of America, eighteen (18) years old and upwards, who 17
has resided in this state for thirty (30) days and for thirty (30) 18
days in the county in which he or she seeks to vote, and for 19
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thirty (30) days in the incorporated municipality in which he or 20
she seeks to vote, and who has been duly registered as an elector 21
under Section 23-15-33, and who * * *, if convicted of vote fraud 22
or of any crime listed in Section 241, Mississippi Constitution of 23
1890, has completed his or her sentence as defined in Section 1 of 24
this act, shall be a qualified elector in and for the county, 25
municipality and voting precinct of his or her residence, and 26
shall be entitled to vote at any election upon compliance with 27
Section 23-15-563. If the thirtieth day to register before an 28
election falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, the registration 29
applications submitted on the business day immediately following 30
the Sunday or legal holiday shall be accepted and entered in the 31
Statewide Elections Management System for the purpose of enabling 32
voters to vote in the next election. Any person who will be 33
eighteen (18) years of age or older on or before the date of the 34
general election and who is duly registered to vote not less than 35
thirty (30) days before the primary election associated with the 36
general election, may vote in the primary election even though the 37
person has not reached his or her eighteenth birthday at the time 38
that the person seeks to vote at the primary election. No others 39
than those specified in this section shall be entitled, or shall 40
be allowed, to vote at any election. 41
SECTION 3. Section 23-15-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 42
amended as follows: 43
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23-15-19. (1) Except when prohibited under subsection (2) 44
of this section, any person who has been convicted of vote fraud 45
or any crime listed in Section 241, Mississippi Constitution of 46
1890, such crimes defined as "disenfranchising," shall not be 47
registered if the person seeking registration has not yet 48
completed his or her sentence as defined in Section 1 of this act, 49
or if registered the name of the person shall be removed from the 50
Statewide Elections Management System by the registrar or the 51
election commissioners of the county of his or her residence if 52
the person at the time of removal has not yet completed his or her 53
sentence as defined in Section 1 of this act. Whenever any person 54
shall be convicted in the circuit court of his or her county of a 55
disenfranchising crime, the county registrar shall thereupon 56
remove his or her name from the Statewide Elections Management 57
System; and whenever any person shall be convicted of a 58
disenfranchising crime in any other court of any county, the 59
presiding judge of the court shall, on demand, certify the fact in 60
writing to the registrar of the county in which the voter resides, 61
who shall thereupon remove the name of the person from the 62
Statewide Elections Management System and retain the certificate 63
as a record of his or her office. 64
(2) No person may be denied the right to register to vote 65
and cast a ballot on the basis of his or her conviction of a 66
disenfranchising offense after sentence completion as defined in 67
Section 1 of this act. 68
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SECTION 4. Section 23-15-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 69
amended as follows: 70
23-15-47. (1) Any person who is qualified to register to 71
vote in the State of Mississippi may register to vote by mail-in 72
application in the manner prescribed in this section. 73
(2) The following procedure shall be used in the 74
registration of electors by mail: 75
(a) Any qualified elector may register to vote by 76
mailing or delivering a completed mail-in application to his or 77
her county registrar at least thirty (30) days before any 78
election; however, if the thirtieth day to register before an 79
election falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, the registration 80
applications submitted on the business day immediately following 81
the Sunday or legal holiday shall be accepted and entered into the 82
Statewide Elections Management System for the purpose of enabling 83
voters to vote in the next election. The postmark date of a 84
mailed application shall be the applicant's date of registration. 85
(b) Upon receipt of a mail-in application, the county 86
registrar shall stamp the application with the date of receipt, 87
and shall verify the application either by matching the 88
applicant's Mississippi driver's license number through the 89
Mississippi Department of Public Safety or by matching the 90
applicant's social security number through the American 91
Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Within fourteen (14) 92
days of receipt of a mail-in registration application, the county 93
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registrar shall complete action on the application, including any 94
attempts to notify the applicant of the status of his or her 95
application. 96
(c) If the county registrar determines that the 97
applicant is qualified and his or her application is legible and 98
complete, the county registrar shall mail the applicant written 99
notification that the application has been approved, specifying 100
the county voting precinct, municipal voting precinct, if any, 101
polling place and supervisor district in which the person shall 102
vote. This written notification of approval containing the 103
specified information shall be the voter's registration card. The 104
registration card shall be provided by the county registrar to the 105
applicant in accordance with Section 23-15-39. Upon entry of the 106
voter registration information into the Statewide Elections 107
Management System, the system shall assign a voter registration 108
number to the applicant. The assigned voter registration number 109
shall be clearly shown on the written notification of approval. 110
In mailing the written notification, the county registrar shall 111
note the following on the envelope: "DO NOT FORWARD". If any 112
registration notification form is returned as undeliverable, the 113
voter's registration shall be void. 114
(d) A mail-in application shall be rejected for any of 115
the following reasons: 116
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(i) An incomplete portion of the application makes 117
it impossible for the registrar to determine the eligibility of 118
the applicant to register; 119
(ii) A portion of the application is illegible in 120
the opinion of the county registrar and makes it impossible to 121
determine the eligibility of the applicant to register; 122
(iii) The county registrar is unable to determine, 123
from the address and information stated on the application, the 124
precinct in which the voter should be assigned or the supervisor 125
district in which he or she is entitled to vote; 126
(iv) The applicant is not qualified to register to 127
vote pursuant to Section 23-15-11; 128
(v) The county registrar determines that the 129
applicant is already registered as a qualified elector of the 130
county; 131
(vi) The county registrar is unable to verify the 132
application pursuant to subsection (2)(b) of this section. 133
(e) If the mail-in application of a person is subject 134
to rejection for any of the reasons set forth in paragraph (d)(i) 135
through (iii) of this subsection, and it appears to the county 136
registrar that the defect or omission is of such a minor nature 137
and that any necessary additional information may be supplied by 138
the applicant over the telephone or by further correspondence, the 139
county registrar may write or call the applicant at the telephone 140
number or address, or both, provided on the application. If the 141
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county registrar is able to contact the applicant by mail or 142
telephone, the county registrar shall attempt to ascertain the 143
necessary information, and if this information is sufficient for 144
the registrar to complete the application, the applicant shall be 145
registered. If the necessary information cannot be obtained by 146
mail or telephone, or is not sufficient to complete the 147
application within fourteen (14) days of receipt, the county 148
registrar shall give the applicant written notice of the rejection 149
and provide the reason for the rejection. The county registrar 150
shall further inform the applicant that he or she has a right to 151
attempt to register by appearing in person or by filing another 152
mail-in application. 153
(f) If a mail-in application is subject to rejection 154
for the reason stated in paragraph (d)(v) of this subsection and 155
the "present home address" portion of the application is different 156
from the residence address for the applicant found in the 157
Statewide Elections Management System, the mail-in application 158
shall be deemed a written request to update the voter's 159
registration pursuant to Section 23-15-13. The county registrar 160
or the election commissioners shall update the voter's residence 161
address in the Statewide Elections Management System and, if 162
necessary, advise the voter of a change in the location of his or 163
her county or municipal polling place by mailing the voter a new 164
voter registration card. 165
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(3) The instructions and the application form for voter 166
registration by mail shall be in a form established by rule duly 167
adopted by the Secretary of State, and both shall state that a 168
person is fully and completely qualified to register to vote and 169
cast a ballot after his or her conviction of a disenfranchising 170
offense upon sentence completion as defined in Section 1 of this 171
act. 172
(4) (a) The Secretary of State shall prepare and furnish 173
without charge the necessary forms for application for voter 174
registration by mail to each county registrar, municipal clerk, 175
all public schools, each private school that requests such 176
applications, and all public libraries. 177
(b) The Secretary of State shall distribute without 178
charge sufficient forms for application for voter registration by 179
mail to the Commissioner of Public Safety, who shall distribute 180
the forms to each driver's license examining and renewal station 181
in the state, and shall ensure that the forms are regularly 182
available to the public at such stations. 183
(c) Bulk quantities of forms for application for voter 184
registration by mail shall be furnished by the Secretary of State 185
to any person or organization. The Secretary of State shall 186
charge a person or organization the actual cost he or she incurs 187
in providing bulk quantities of forms for application for voter 188
registration to such person or organization. 189
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(5) The originals of completed mail-in applications shall 190
remain on file in the office of the county registrar with copies 191
retained in the Statewide Elections Management System. 192
(6) If the applicant indicates on the application that he or 193
she resides within the city limits of a city or town in the county 194
of registration, the county registrar shall enter the information 195
into the Statewide Elections Management System. 196
(7) If the applicant indicates on the application that he or 197
she has previously registered to vote in another county of this 198
state or another state, notice to the voter's previous county of 199
registration in this state shall be provided through the Statewide 200
Elections Management System. If the voter's previous place of 201
registration was in another state, notice shall be provided to the 202
voter's previous state of residence. 203
(8) Any person who attempts to register to vote by mail 204
shall be subject to the penalties for false registration provided 205
for in Section 23-15-17. 206
SECTION 5. Section 23-15-213, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 207
amended as follows: 208
[Until December 31, 2027, this section shall read as 209
follows:] 210
23-15-213. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this 211
section, there shall be elected five (5) election commissioners 212
for each county whose terms of office shall commence on the first 213
Monday of January following their election and who shall serve for 214
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a term of four (4) years. Each of the commissioners shall be 215
required to attend a training seminar provided by the Secretary of 216
State and satisfactorily complete a skills assessment, which shall 217
include, adequate training on an up-to-date database, to ensure 218
that a person is not denied the right to register to vote and cast 219
a ballot on the basis of his or her conviction of a 220
disenfranchising offense, according to statutory code citation, 221
after sentence completion as defined in Section 1 of this act, and 222
before acting, shall take and subscribe the oath of office 223
prescribed by the Constitution. The oath shall be filed in the 224
office of the clerk of the chancery court. Upon filing the oath 225
of office, the election commissioner may be provided access to the 226
Statewide Elections Management System for the purpose of 227
performing his or her duties. Such skills assessment shall only 228
be required once every four (4) years. While engaged in their 229
duties, the commissioners shall be conservators of the peace in 230
the county, with all the duties and powers of such. This 231
subsection's requirement to attend a training seminar provided by 232
the Secretary of State as described in this subsection is 233
effective immediately upon passage of this act, such that the 234
election commissioner overseeing elections held in 2026 or after, 235
shall be so trained. 236
(2) (a) At the general election in 2024 and every four (4) 237
years thereafter, the qualified electors of the board of 238
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supervisors' Districts One, Three and Five shall elect in their 239
district one (1) election commissioner. 240
(b) At the general election in 2027, the qualified 241
electors of the board of supervisors' Districts Two and Four shall 242
elect in their district one (1) election commissioner, who shall 243
serve for a term of three (3) years. 244
(c) No more than one (1) commissioner shall be a 245
resident of and reside in each supervisor's district of the 246
county; it being the purpose of this section that the county board 247
of election commissioners shall consist of one (1) person from 248
each supervisor's district of the county and that each 249
commissioner be elected from the supervisor's district in which he 250
or she resides. 251
(3) Candidates for county election commissioner shall 252
qualify by filing with the clerk of the board of supervisors of 253
their respective counties a petition personally signed by not less 254
than fifty (50) qualified electors of the supervisor's district in 255
which they reside, requesting that they be a candidate, by 5:00 256
p.m. not later than February 1 of the year in which the election 257
occurs and unless the petition is filed within the required time, 258
their names shall not be placed upon the ballot. All candidates 259
shall declare in writing their party affiliation, if any, to the 260
board of supervisors, and such party affiliation shall be shown on 261
the official ballot. 262
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(4) The petition shall have attached thereto a certificate 263
of the county registrar showing the number of qualified electors 264
on each petition, which shall be furnished by the registrar on 265
request. The board shall determine the sufficiency of the 266
petition, and if the petition contains the required number of 267
signatures and is filed within the time required, the president of 268
the board shall verify that the candidate is a resident of the 269
supervisor's district in which he or she seeks election and that 270
the candidate is otherwise qualified as provided by law, and shall 271
certify that the candidate is qualified to the chair or secretary 272
of the county election commission and the names of the candidates 273
shall be placed upon the ballot for the ensuing election. No 274
county election commissioner shall serve or be considered as 275
elected until he or she has received a majority of the votes cast 276
for the position or post for which he or she is a candidate. If a 277
majority vote is not received in the first election, then the two 278
(2) candidates receiving the most votes for each position or post 279
shall be placed upon the ballot for a second election to be held 280
four (4) weeks later in accordance with appropriate procedures 281
followed in other elections involving runoff candidates. 282
(5) In the first meeting in January of each year, the county 283
election commissioners shall organize by electing a chair and a 284
secretary, who shall serve a one-year term. The county election 285
commissioners shall provide the names of the chair and secretary 286
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to the Secretary of State and provide notice of any change in 287
officers which may occur during the year. 288
(6) It shall be the duty of the chair to have the official 289
ballot printed and distributed at each general or special 290
election. 291
[From and after January 1, 2028, this section shall read as 292
follows:] 293
23-15-213. (1) There shall be elected five (5) election 294
commissioners for each county whose terms of office shall commence 295
on the first Monday of January following their election and who 296
shall serve for a term of four (4) years. Each of the 297
commissioners shall be required to attend a training seminar 298
provided by the Secretary of State and satisfactorily complete a 299
skills assessment, which shall include, adequate training on an 300
up-to-date database, to ensure that a person is not denied the 301
right to register to vote and cast a ballot on the basis of his or 302
her conviction of a disenfranchising offense, according to 303
statutory code citation, after sentence completion as defined in 304
Section 1 of this act, and before acting, shall take and subscribe 305
the oath of office prescribed by the Constitution. The oath shall 306
be filed in the office of the clerk of the chancery court. Upon 307
filing the oath of office, the election commissioner may be 308
provided access to the Statewide Elections Management System for 309
the purpose of performing his or her duties. Such skills 310
assessment shall only be required once every four (4) years. 311
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While engaged in their duties, the commissioners shall be 312
conservators of the peace in the county, with all the duties and 313
powers of such. This subsection's requirement to attend a 314
training seminar provided by the Secretary of State as described 315
in this subsection is effective immediately upon passage of this 316
act, such that the election commissioner overseeing elections held 317
in 2026 or after, shall be so trained. 318
(2) (a) At the general election in 2028 and every four (4) 319
years thereafter, the qualified electors of the board of 320
supervisors' Districts One, Three and Five shall elect in their 321
district one (1) election commissioner. 322
(b) At the general election in 2030 and every four (4) 323
years thereafter, the qualified electors of the board of 324
supervisors' Districts Two and Four shall elect in their district 325
one (1) election commissioner. 326
(c) No more than one (1) commissioner shall be a 327
resident of and reside in each supervisor's district of the 328
county; it being the purpose of this section that the county board 329
of election commissioners shall consist of one (1) person from 330
each supervisor's district of the county and that each 331
commissioner be elected from the supervisor's district in which he 332
or she resides. 333
(3) Candidates for county election commissioner shall 334
qualify by filing with the clerk of the board of supervisors of 335
their respective counties a petition personally signed by not less 336
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than fifty (50) qualified electors of the supervisor's district in 337
which they reside, requesting that they be a candidate, by 5:00 338
p.m. not later than February 1 of the year in which the election 339
occurs and unless the petition is filed within the required time, 340
their names shall not be placed upon the ballot. All candidates 341
shall declare in writing their party affiliation, if any, to the 342
board of supervisors, and such party affiliation shall be shown on 343
the official ballot. 344
(4) The petition shall have attached thereto a certificate 345
of the county registrar showing the number of qualified electors 346
on each petition, which shall be furnished by the registrar on 347
request. The board shall determine the sufficiency of the 348
petition, and if the petition contains the required number of 349
signatures and is filed within the time required, the president of 350
the board shall verify that the candidate is a resident of the 351
supervisor's district in which he or she seeks election and that 352
the candidate is otherwise qualified as provided by law, and shall 353
certify that the candidate is qualified to the chair or secretary 354
of the county election commission and the names of the candidates 355
shall be placed upon the ballot for the ensuing election. No 356
county election commissioner shall serve or be considered as 357
elected until he or she has received a majority of the votes cast 358
for the position or post for which he or she is a candidate. If a 359
majority vote is not received in the first election, then the two 360
(2) candidates receiving the most votes for each position or post 361
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ST: Suffrage; restore to any person
disqualified by reason of criminal conviction
upon completion of sentence.
shall be placed upon the ballot for a second election to be held 362
four (4) weeks later in accordance with appropriate procedures 363
followed in other elections involving runoff candidates. 364
(5) In the first meeting in January of each year, the county 365
election commissioners shall organize by electing a chair and a 366
secretary, who shall serve a one-year term. The county election 367
commissioners shall provide the names of the chair and secretary 368
to the Secretary of State and provide notice of any change in 369
officers which may occur during the year. 370
(6) It shall be the duty of the chair to have the official 371
ballot printed and distributed at each general or special 372
election. 373
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from 374
and after its passage. 375