Mississippi Recall Act of 2026; enact.

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To: Elections
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Hill

SENATE BILL NO. 2350

AN ACT ENTITLED THE "MISSISSIPPI RECALL ACT OF 2026" TO 1
PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR THE RECALL OF LOCAL ELECTED AND APPOINTED 2
OFFICIALS; TO DEFINE TERMS; TO PRESCRIBE THOSE OFFICIALS SUBJECT 3
TO RECALL; TO PRESCRIBE THE NUMBER OF ELECTORS NEEDED TO DEMAND A 4
RECALL; TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPLICATION FOR AND TIME OF FILING A 5
RECALL PETITION BY SPONSORS; TO PROVIDE A FORM FOR THE RECALL 6
PETITION; TO PRESCRIBE THOSE ELECTORS ELIGIBLE TO SIGN A RECALL 7
PETITION AND A PROCEDURE FOR THE VERIFICATION OF SIGNATURES; TO 8
PROHIBIT CERTAIN PERSONS FROM CIRCULATING A PETITION OR 9
APPLICATION; TO PROVIDE FOR THE DETERMINATION OF LEGAL SUFFICIENCY 10
OF A PETITION BY THE LOCAL BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS; TO 11
PROVIDE FOR THE MANNER OF CONDUCTING A RECALL ELECTION; TO PROVIDE 12
FOR THE FILING OF SUBSEQUENT RECALL PETITIONS FOLLOWING A RECALL 13
ELECTION OR DENIAL OF RECALL PETITION; TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE 14
BOARD OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS TO 15
IMPLEMENT THIS ACT; TO AUTHORIZE AN APPLICATION TO THE CIRCUIT 16
COURT TO COMPEL COMPLIANCE WITH RECALL PROCEDURES; TO PROHIBIT 17
GIVING OR RECEIVING MONEY TO SIGN PETITIONS OR AFFIDAVITS FOR 18
RECALL AND OTHER RECALL INFRACTIONS, AND TO PROVIDE CRIMINAL 19
PENALTIES THEREFOR; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 25-5-3 THROUGH 25-5-37, 20
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDE A RECALL PROCEDURE FOR 21
LOCAL OFFICIALS PURSUANT TO PETITION AND ELECTION; AND FOR RELATED 22
PURPOSES. 23
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 24
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 25
"Mississippi Recall Act of 2026." 26
SECTION 2. As used in this act, the term: 27
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(a) "Elective office" means an office filled by the 28
exercise of the franchise of vote by electors as defined in 29
paragraph (d) of this section in a general or special election as 30
defined under the laws of this state. 31
(b) "Appointed office" means an office filled by a 32
selection and/or nomination and confirmation by a person or group 33
of people with the authority to make the choice of who shall fill 34
said office. 35
(c) "Board of election commissioners" means: 36
(i) In the case of any elected county officials, 37
the county board of election commissioners; and 38
(ii) In the case of any elected municipal 39
officials, the municipal board of election commissioners. If 40
there is no municipal board of election commissioners, then the 41
county board of elected officials will serve as the board of 42
election commissioners. 43
(d) "Elector" means any person who possesses all of the 44
qualifications for voting now or hereafter prescribed by the laws 45
of this state and who has registered to vote. 46
(e) "Electoral district" means the area in which the 47
electors reside who are qualified to vote for any of the 48
candidates offering for a particular office. 49
(f) "Legal sufficiency" means, solely as applied to the 50
duties or functions of the board of election commissioners, a 51
determination of the completeness of an application for a recall 52
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petition or a recall petition and a determination by the circuit 53
clerk that an application for a recall petition or a recall 54
position contains a sufficient number of valid signatures. 55
(g) "Official sponsors" or "sponsors" means the 56
electors who circulate or file an application for a recall 57
petition who were registered and eligible to vote in the last 58
general or special election for the office held by the official 59
sought to be recalled and who reside in the electoral district of 60
the official sought to be recalled at the time the application is 61
made. If at any point a sponsor moves from the electoral 62
district, the sponsor shall be immediately removed from the 63
petition. 64
SECTION 3. (1) Every public official in a county or 65
municipality who holds elective office, either by election or by 66
appointment for an unexpired term, is subject to recall from 67
office by electors who are registered and qualified to vote in the 68
recall election and who reside in the electoral district from 69
which candidates are elected to that office. The number of 70
electors necessary to petition the recall of the official shall be 71
equal to at least thirty-five percent (35%) of the number of 72
electors that legally voted at the last preceding election for any 73
candidate offering for the office held by the official. 74
(2) No recall petition shall demand the recall of more than 75
one (1) public official. 76
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(3) Every public official in a county or municipality who 77
holds elective office, either by election or by appointment for an 78
unexpired term, is subject to recall on the grounds that such 79
public official has, while holding any public office, conducted 80
himself or herself in a manner which relates to and adversely 81
affects the administration of his or her current office and 82
adversely affects the interests of the public. 83
SECTION 4. (1) No application for a recall petition may be 84
filed during the first one hundred eighty (180) days of the term 85
of office of any public official subject to recall. No 86
application may be filed if it would potentially result in a 87
recall election being held within the final six (6) months of the 88
term of office of any public official subject to recall. No 89
person shall be authorized to circulate, sponsor or sign such 90
application unless such person is an elector or sponsor as defined 91
in Section 2 of this act. 92
(2) (a) The application shall include: 93
(i) The name and office of the person sought to be 94
recalled; 95
(ii) The printed names and signatures of the 96
official sponsors, the date signed, residence addresses and the 97
name of the county of residence; 98
(iii) The designation of one (1) of the sponsors 99
as the petition chairperson who shall represent the sponsors on 100
all matters pertaining to the recall application and petition; 101
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(iv) A statement that: _______________ (name and 102
office) has, while holding public office, conducted himself or 103
herself in a manner which relates to and adversely affects the 104
administration of his or her office and adversely affects the 105
interests of the public. The statement shall be typed, printed or 106
reproduced by the board of election commissioners on the face of 107
each application issued; and 108
(v) An affidavit by the petition chairperson and 109
the person circulating such recall application that each person 110
sponsoring or signing the recall application is an elector of the 111
electoral district of the official sought to be recalled. The 112
affidavit required by this subparagraph (v) shall be in the 113
following form: 114
AFFIDAVIT OF CIRCULATOR AND PETITION CHAIRPERSON 115
State of Mississippi 116
County of ___________ 117
Under the penalty of a violation of Section 97-9-59, 118
Mississippi Code of 1972, relating to perjury, we the undersigned 119
do depose and say that each person sponsoring or signing the 120
recall application of ____________________ is an elector of the 121
electoral district of the official sought to be recalled and 122
further depose and say that the public official identified herein 123
is subject to recall on the grounds that such public official has, 124
while holding any public office, conducted himself or herself in a 125
manner which relates to and adversely affects the administration 126
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of his or her current office and adversely affects the interests 127
of the public. 128
____________________________________ 129
(Signature of circulator) 130
____________________________________ 131
(Residence address) 132
(Number and street or route) 133
____________________________________ 134
(City) 135
____________________________________ 136
(Signature of petition chairperson) 137
____________________________________ 138
(Residence address) 139
(Number and street or route) 140
____________________________________ 141
(City) 142
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ______________ day of 143
___________________, ____. 144
_________________________ 145
Notary public 146
___________, Mississippi 147
My commission expires on the _______ day of ________________, 148
_______. 149
No notary public may sign the application as an elector or 150
serve as a circulator of any application which he or she 151
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notarized. Any and all sheets of an application for a recall 152
petition that have the circulator's affidavit notarized by a 153
notary public who also served as a circulator of one or more 154
sheets of the application for a recall petition or who signed one 155
(1) of the sheets of the petition as an elector shall be 156
disqualified and rejected. 157
(b) Applications shall be issued by the board of 158
election commissioners who shall assign a number to each 159
application. Such number shall appear on the face of each 160
application. The board of election commissioners shall keep 161
records of applications issued, including the date of issuance and 162
number assigned. The board of election commissioners shall 163
immediately notify in writing the public official named for recall 164
in the application that an application for a recall petition has 165
been officially issued for circulation. 166
(c) The official application forms shall be printed by 167
the Office of the Secretary of State in substantially the form 168
prescribed in this subsection and distributed to boards of 169
election commissioners. 170
(3) The number of official sponsors necessary to file an 171
application for a recall petition must be equal in number to at 172
least one hundred (100) electors or equal in number to at least 173
ten percent (10%) of the number of electors who legally voted in 174
the last preceding election for any of the candidates offering for 175
the office held by the public official sought to be recalled, 176
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whichever is smaller. If at any point a sponsor moves from the 177
electoral district, the sponsor shall be immediately removed from 178
the petition. 179
(4) Sponsors of a recall petition, before causing the 180
petition to be circulated, shall submit the application for the 181
petition to the board of election commissioners designated in 182
Section 2 of this act and request official recall petition forms. 183
(5) At any time prior to the date the board of election 184
commissioners receives the application for a recall petition, an 185
elector who has signed the application as an official sponsor may 186
request withdrawal of his or her signature from the application by 187
executing and filing an affidavit signed and sworn to before a 188
notary public which affirms the elector's intention to withdraw 189
his or her signature from the application. The official affidavit 190
of signature withdrawal shall be printed by the Office of the 191
Secretary of State and distributed to boards of election 192
commissioners. The form of the affidavit shall be substantially 193
as prescribed in Section 7 of this act. 194
(6) (a) No application for recall petition shall be 195
accepted for verification if more than fifteen (15) days have 196
elapsed since the application forms were issued to the sponsors. 197
If an application for a recall petition contains more than one (1) 198
sheet, the application, when offered for filing, shall be bound 199
together and each sheet shall be numbered consecutively at the 200
foot of each page beginning with page one (1). 201
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(b) On receipt of the application, the board of 202
election commissioners shall file the application and proceed to 203
determine the legal sufficiency of the application and determine 204
if the signers are qualified electors eligible to sign the 205
application. The board of election commissioners is granted 206
unrestricted authority to examine the voter registration records 207
maintained by the registrar, to receive evidence and testimony, 208
and to require the personal appearance of any person signing such 209
application for the purpose of making such determination. If the 210
board of election commissioners finds that any signer is not a 211
qualified elector eligible to sign the application, the signature 212
shall not be counted in determining whether the application 213
contains a sufficient number of signatures as required by law. 214
The nullification of a signature on an application shall not 215
affect the validity of other signatures contained in such 216
application. The board of election commissioners shall certify 217
the legal sufficiency or insufficiency of the application for a 218
recall petition within five (5) days after receiving the 219
application, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays; 220
however, a judge of the circuit court having jurisdiction in the 221
subject electoral district may, upon proper application and good 222
cause shown, grant an additional period of time not to exceed 223
fifteen (15) days for the board of election commissioners to 224
verify the application. 225
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(c) The board of election commissioners shall 226
immediately notify in writing the public official named for recall 227
in the application that a completed application for a recall 228
petition has been filed with the board of election commissioners 229
for verification. 230
(7) No application for a recall petition shall be amended, 231
supplemented or returned after it has been filed with the board of 232
election commissioners for verification. 233
(8) Upon certifying the legal sufficiency of the 234
application, the board of election commissioners shall immediately 235
officially file the certification of the application, issue 236
official recall petition forms, assign a number to the recall 237
petition, which number shall appear on the face of each petition 238
form, and issue the number to the sponsors. A record of each 239
application, including the date of its receipt and the number 240
assigned and issued to the sponsors, shall be maintained by the 241
board of election commissioners. 242
(9) The board of election commissioners shall immediately 243
notify in writing the public official named for recall in the 244
application that a recall petition has been officially issued for 245
circulation. 246
(10) The official recall petition forms shall be printed by 247
the Office of the Secretary of State and distributed to board of 248
election commissioners. 249
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SECTION 5. (1) The form of the Recall Petition shall be 250
substantially as follows: 251
RECALL PETITION 252
________________________ 253
(Official application no.) 254
________________________ 255
(county or city) 256
To __________________________________ 257
(Name of board of election commissioners) 258
__________________________________ 259
(Address) 260
__________________________________ 261
(City, state, zip code) 262
We, the electors registered to vote in the recall election 263
herein petitioned, demand the recall of _________________ (name 264
and office) on the grounds that said official has, while holding 265
public office, conducted himself or herself in a manner which 266
relates to and adversely affects the administration of his or her 267
office and adversely affects the interests of the public. 268
Date of Residence County of 269
Name Signing Address Residence 270
__________________________________________________________________ 271
(Signature) (Number and street or route) 272
__________________________ ________________ 273
(Printed name of elector) (City) 274
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(Ten (10) lines for signatures and printed names) 275
(2) The following statement shall be written or printed on 276
each petition and each signer must read, or be read, the following 277
statements: 278
"(a) Any person who gives or receives money or any 279
other thing of value for signing a recall petition or for signing 280
an affidavit of signature withdrawal shall be guilty of a 281
misdemeanor; 282
(b) If (insert appropriate number) electors sign this 283
petition, there will be an election at which a majority of the 284
electors voting therein will determine whether the above-named 285
official will be removed from office." 286
(3) Each recall petition shall contain a statement 287
specifically designating the name and office of the official 288
sought to be recalled, a statement that the sponsors allege that 289
the named official has, while holding public office, conducted 290
himself or herself in a manner which relates to and adversely 291
affects the administration of his or her office and adversely 292
affects the interests of the public, and a statement confirming 293
that the signers agree with the sponsor(s) and support the 294
petition for recall of the above-named official. The statements 295
shall be written or printed on each petition and each signer must 296
read, or be read, the statements. 297
SECTION 6. (1) All signers of a single recall petition 298
shall be electors who are registered and eligible to vote in the 299
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recall election and who reside in the electoral district of the 300
official sought to be recalled. No recall petition shall be 301
circulated or signed by any person in any location where alcoholic 302
beverages are sold or served. 303
(2) Every elector signing a recall petition shall do so in 304
the presence of the person circulating the petition, who is to 305
execute the affidavit of verification on the reverse side of the 306
petition form. At the time of signing, the elector shall sign his 307
name, and the elector or the person circulating the petition shall 308
print the name of the elector below the elector's signature and 309
shall print or write in the appropriate spaces following the 310
signature the elector's residence address, giving number and 311
street or route and city, the name of the county, and the date on 312
which the elector signed the petition. No notary public may sign 313
the petition as an elector or serve as a circulator of any 314
petition which he or she notarized. Any and all sheets of a 315
recall petition that have the circulator's affidavit notarized by 316
a notary public who also served as a circulator of one or more 317
sheets of the recall petition or who signed one (1) of the sheets 318
of the petition as an elector shall be disqualified and rejected. 319
(3) If an elector is incapable of signing his or name, he or 320
she may specifically request the circulator of the petition to 321
sign and print his or her name and complete the information 322
required on the petition sheet to accompany the signature; 323
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however, the circulator shall also sign his or her full name 324
beside the printed name of such elector. 325
(4) The person before whom the electors signed the recall 326
petition shall verify, in an affidavit subscribed and sworn to by 327
him or her before a notary public, that each of the names on the 328
petition form was signed in his or her presence on the date 329
indicated and that in his or her belief each signer was an elector 330
of the electoral district of the official sought to be recalled. 331
(5) The affidavit printed on the reverse side of each recall 332
petition form shall be in the following form: 333
AFFIDAVIT OF CIRCULATOR 334
State of Mississippi 335
County of ___________ 336
Under the penalty of Section 97-9-59, Mississippi Code of 337
1972, relating to perjury, I do depose and say that I am an 338
elector registered to vote in the recall election herein 339
petitioned for and that each petitioner signed or caused to be 340
signed the foregoing petition in my presence on the date 341
indicated; and I believe that each signer's name and residence 342
address are correctly stated, and that each signer is an elector 343
of the electoral district in which such recall election will be 344
conducted, and that each signer has read, or was read, the 345
required statements which are also set out on each petition. 346
(Signature of affiant) _______________________ 347
(Residence address) __________________________ 348
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(Number and street or route) 349
________________ 350
(City) 351
Subscribed and sworn to before me this _______ day of 352
________________, _____. 353
_______________________ 354
Notary public 355
______________, Mississippi 356
My commission expires on the ____ day of _____________, ____. 357
(6) An elector may change the way his or her signature and 358
residence address appear on the recall petition at any time prior 359
to the filing of the petition for verification by striking through 360
his or her name and initialing the strike-through and re-signing 361
the petition with his or her printed name corrected accordingly. 362
SECTION 7. (1) At any time prior to the date an application 363
for recall petition or a recall petition is filed for 364
verification, an elector who has signed the application or the 365
recall petition form may request withdrawal of his or her 366
signature from the application or recall petition by executing and 367
filing an affidavit, in the form prescribed by this section, with 368
the board of election commissioners. Any signature so withdrawn 369
shall not be counted in determining the legal sufficiency of the 370
application or recall petition. The affidavit shall: 371
(a) Be signed and sworn to before a notary public; 372
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(b) State the elector's residence address, giving 373
number and street or route and city, the name of the county of 374
residence, and, in the case of a recall application or petition, 375
the number of the recall application or petition which he or she 376
signed; and 377
(c) Affirm the elector's intention to withdraw his or 378
her signature from the application or recall petition. 379
(2) The affidavit shall be substantially in the following 380
form: 381
AFFIDAVIT OF SIGNATURE WITHDRAWAL 382
State of Mississippi 383
County of __________ 384
I, ________________ (name as it appears on the application or 385
recall petition), being first duly sworn, say that I am an elector 386
of the __________________ (electoral district) in which the recall 387
election will be conducted. 388
That my residence address is ________________________________ 389
__________________________________________________________________ 390
(Number and street or route) (City) 391
That I signed or caused to be signed the application or the 392
petition for the recall of _________________ (name and office of 393
person sought to be recalled) and that the recall application or 394
petition has been assigned number ___________________. 395
That it is my intention by the signing and filing of this 396
affidavit to withdraw my signature therefrom. 397
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__________________________ 398
(Signature of elector) 399
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ________ day of 400
________________, _____. 401
_______________________ 402
Notary public 403
___________, Mississippi 404
My commission expires on the __________ day of ________, ___. 405
SECTION 8. No county registrar or other person authorized by 406
law to register electors and no person other than an elector of 407
the electoral district of the official sought to be recalled shall 408
circulate a recall application or petition. No employee of the 409
state shall circulate a recall application or petition. All 410
signatures obtained by any unqualified person shall be void and 411
shall not be counted in determining the legal sufficiency of the 412
petition. 413
SECTION 9. (1) Before a person may file a recall petition 414
with the appropriate board of election commissioners, the 415
signatures on the petition must be verified by the circuit clerk 416
of the county in which the petition was circulated. The circuit 417
clerk shall verify the name of each qualified elector signing on 418
each recall petition. The circuit clerk shall certify the 419
signatures of qualified electors of that county and shall state 420
the total number of qualified electors signing the petition in 421
that county. A circuit clerk may not receive any fee, salary or 422
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compensation from any private person or private legal entity for 423
the clerk's duties in certifying a recall petition. When the 424
person proposing a recall petition has secured upon the petition a 425
number of signatures of qualified electors equal to or exceeding 426
the minimum number required by Section 3 of this act, and such 427
signatures have been certified by the circuit clerks of the 428
various counties, he may submit the recall petition to the board 429
of election commissioners for filing. The circuit clerk is 430
granted unrestricted authority to examine the registration records 431
maintained by the county registrar to receive evidence and 432
testimony, and to require the personal appearance of any person 433
signing the recall petition for the purpose of determining if the 434
signers are qualified electors eligible to sign the recall 435
petition. If the circuit clerk shall not be reasonably able to 436
ascertain that any signature is that of a qualified elector 437
eligible to sign the recall petition, the signature shall not be 438
counted in determining whether the petition contains a sufficient 439
number of signatures as required by law. The nullification of a 440
signature on any sheet of the recall petition shall not affect the 441
validity of other signatures contained on the sheet. 442
(2) The board of election commissioners shall be responsible 443
for determining the legal sufficiency of the recall petition 444
within fifteen (15) days after it has been filed with it; however, 445
in cases where more than one (1) recall petition is subject to 446
review for verification, the board of election commissioners shall 447
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be responsible for determining the legal sufficiency of any recall 448
petition within thirty (30) days after it has been filed with it. 449
(3) A recall petition shall not be submitted to the board of 450
election commissioners for verification for: 451
(a) Any official holding an office for whom five 452
thousand (5,000) signatures or more are required for the recall 453
petition under Section 3(1) of this act if more than forty-five 454
(45) days have elapsed since the date the official recall petition 455
forms were issued to the sponsor; or 456
(b) Any official holding an office for whom less than 457
five thousand (5,000) signatures are required under Section 3(1) 458
of this act if more than thirty (30) days have elapsed since the 459
date the official recall petition forms were issued to the 460
sponsors. 461
(4) (a) No recall petition shall be amended, supplemented 462
or returned after it has been filed with the board of election 463
commissioners for verification. 464
(b) If a recall petition contains more than one (1) 465
sheet, such recall petition shall, when offered for filing, be 466
bound together and each sheet shall be numbered consecutively at 467
the foot of each page beginning with page one (1). 468
(5) Within five (5) business days, after the board of 469
election commissioners has certified the legal sufficiency of a 470
petition, it shall immediately notify the appropriate official, 471
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who shall call the recall election as provided in Section 11 of 472
this act. 473
(6) Upon certifying the legal sufficiency or insufficiency 474
of a recall petition, the board of election commissioners shall 475
immediately notify the petition chairman and the officeholder in 476
writing of the results and officially file the certification of 477
the petition. 478
SECTION 10. If an officeholder resigns prior to the holding 479
of a recall election, no recall election shall be conducted. 480
SECTION 11. (1) Within ten (10) days after having received 481
certification of the sufficiency of the recall petition by the 482
board of election commissioners, a recall election shall be called 483
and published, as provided in this section, and shall be conducted 484
not less than fifty (50) days nor more than sixty-five (65) days 485
after the call; however, if a primary or general election is to be 486
held not less than thirty (30) days nor more than forty-five (45) 487
days after such call is issued, the recall election shall be 488
conducted on that date. 489
(2) A recall election shall be called: 490
(a) By the board of election commissioners of the 491
county, if for a county official; or 492
(b) By the board of election commissioners of the 493
municipality, if for a municipal official. 494
(3) If a recall petition is against an official who is 495
directed by this section to call the election, it shall be called 496
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by the circuit clerk, if for a member of the county board of 497
election commissioners or a member of the municipality board of 498
election commissioners. 499
(4) The official call for the election shall be published 500
one (1) time as follows: 501
(a) In a newspaper of general circulation in the 502
county, if the election is for a county official; or 503
(b) In a newspaper of general circulation in the 504
municipality, if the election is for a municipal official. 505
(5) It shall be the duty of the appropriate officials 506
authorized by law to conduct elections to hold and conduct the 507
recall election and to declare and certify the results; however, 508
if the person sought to be recalled is the official authorized by 509
law to conduct elections, the clerk of the circuit court of the 510
county in which such recall election is to be held shall hold and 511
conduct the recall election and declare and certify the results. 512
The ballot for the recall election shall state the name and office 513
of the person whose recall has been petitioned, and the ballot 514
shall be in the form prescribed by law for county or municipal 515
officials. The ballot shall have written or printed thereon the 516
following: 517
"[ ] YES Shall (name of officeholder), (name of office), 518
be recalled and removed from public office on 519
the grounds that said official has, while 520
[ ] NO holding public office, conducted himself or 521
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herself in a manner which relates to and 522
adversely affects the administration of his 523
or her office and adversely affects the 524
interests of the public?" 525
If more than one (1) public official is subject to a recall 526
election in the same precinct, the board of election commissioners 527
may prepare a recall ballot so as to include on a single ballot 528
separate recall questions for each of the officials sought to be 529
recalled. 530
(6) Those persons desiring to vote in favor of recall shall 531
vote "Yes," and those persons desiring to vote against recall 532
shall vote "No." If more than one-half (1/2) of the votes cast on 533
such question are in favor of recall, the public office in 534
question shall immediately become vacant. Otherwise, the public 535
official named in the recall petition shall continue in office. 536
SECTION 12. (1) After a recall petition and election, no 537
further recall petition shall be filed against the same official 538
until at least six (6) months have elapsed from the date of the 539
previous recall election; and any other recall petitions against 540
that official outstanding on the date of the recall election shall 541
be void. 542
(2) If the board of election commissioners finds that a 543
recall petition is insufficient and fails to verify the same, no 544
further application for a recall petition shall be filed against 545
the same official until at least six (6) months have elapsed from 546
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the date of the denial of such recall petition; however, the 547
finding of insufficiency shall not bar the verification of any 548
other recall petition against that official which is available for 549
signature or pending verification at the time of such finding of 550
insufficiency. 551
SECTION 13. All recall elections shall be conducted in the 552
same manner as special elections. 553
SECTION 14. The State Board of Election Commissioners is 554
authorized to promulgate such rules and regulations as are 555
necessary to carry out this act. 556
SECTION 15. (1) If the board of election commissioners 557
fails to comply with this act, any elector may apply, within ten 558
(10) days after such refusal, to the circuit court for a writ of 559
mandamus to compel the board of election commissioners to perform 560
its official duties. If the court finds that the board of 561
election commissioners has not complied with this act, the court 562
shall issue an order for the board to comply. 563
(2) An action against the board of election commissioners 564
shall be filed in the circuit court of the county of the board of 565
election commissioners, except that an action against the State 566
Board of Election Commissioners shall be filed in the Circuit 567
Court of Hinds County. 568
SECTION 16. An elector's eligibility to sign an application 569
for a recall petition or a petition for recall shall be determined 570
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as of the date immediately preceding the date the application or 571
petition is signed by that elector. 572
SECTION 17. (1) Any person who gives or receives money or 573
any other thing of value for signing a recall application or 574
petition or for signing an affidavit of signature withdrawal shall 575
be guilty of a misdemeanor. 576
(2) A person who, by menace or threat either directly or 577
indirectly, induces or compels or attempts to induce or compel any 578
other person to sign or subscribe or to refrain from signing or 579
subscribing that person's name to a recall application or petition 580
or, after signing or subscribing that person's name, to have that 581
person's name taken therefrom shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 582
(3) A person who signs any name other than his or her own to 583
a recall application or petition, except in a circumstance where 584
he or she signs for a person in the presence of and at the 585
specific request of such person who is incapable of signing that 586
person's own name, or who knowingly signs his or her name more 587
than once for the same recall application or petition or who 588
knowingly is not at the time of signing a qualified elector of the 589
electoral district of the official sought to be recalled shall be 590
guilty of a misdemeanor. 591
SECTION 18. Sections 25-5-3, 25-5-5, 25-5-7, 25-5-9, 592
25-5-11, 25-5-13, 25-5-15, 25-5-17, 25-5-19, 25-5-21, 25-5-23, 593
25-5-25, 25-5-27, 25-5-29, 25-5-31, 25-5-33, 25-5-35 and 25-5-37, 594
Mississippi Code of 1972, which provide a recall procedure for 595
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ST: Mississippi Recall Act of 2026; enact.
local officials pursuant to petition and election, provide for the 596
verification of the petition, provide for examination of a 597
petition for recall by the election commissioners, provide for 598
notice of a hearing, provide for the appointment of a removal 599
council, provide for the conduct of a removal election, provide 600
for the results of a removal election, and provide for appeals and 601
penalties, are hereby repealed. 602
SECTION 19. This act shall take effect and be in force from 603
and after July 1, 2026. 604