Robert G. Clark, Jr., Voting Rights Act of Mississippi; enact.

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To: Elections
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) DuPree, Blount, Butler,
Simmons (12th), Mumford, Gillespie Isom,
Frazier, Hickman, Norwood, Turner-Ford, Pope,
Barnett, Jackson, Thomas, Blackmon,
Brumfield, Simmons (13th)

SENATE BILL NO. 2582

AN ACT TO CREATE THE ROBERT G. CLARK, JR., VOTING RIGHTS ACT 1
OF MISSISSIPPI; TO DEFINE RELEVANT TERMS; TO PROHIBIT VOTER 2
SUPPRESSION AND VOTE DILUTION; TO ESTABLISH THE MISSISSIPPI VOTING 3
RIGHTS COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE THE CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS FOR 4
NOMINATING A PERSON AS A MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION; TO PROVIDE HOW 5
MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION SHALL BE SELECTED; TO PROVIDE HOW THE 6
COMMISSION WILL DETERMINE PRECLEARANCE FOR COVERED POLITICAL 7
SUBDIVISIONS; TO PROVIDE THE PROCEDURES FOR OBTAINING 8
PRECLEARANCE; TO ESTABLISH PROTECTIONS FOR VOTERS WHO ARE 9
CLASSIFIED AS LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT AND/OR DISABLED; TO 10
PROVIDE WHAT ACCOMMODATIONS SHALL BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR COVERED 11
INDIVIDUALS IN A PROTECTED CLASS; TO PROVIDE THE FRAMEWORK TO 12
ESTABLISH THE STATE VOTING AND ELECTIONS DATABASE AND INSTITUTE; 13
TO PROVIDE THE MISSION AND FUNCTIONS OF THE DATABASE AND 14
INSTITUTE; TO PROHIBIT INTIMIDATION, DECEPTION OR OBSTRUCTIONS 15
THAT WOULD AFFECT THE RIGHTS OF VOTERS TO PARTICIPATE IN 16
ELECTIONS; TO REQUIRE PUBLIC NOTICE OF VOTING-RELATED CHANGES, 17
SUCH AS GOVERNMENT BOUNDARIES, METHODS OF ELECTIONS OR DISTRICT 18
MAPS; TO PROVIDE GROUNDS FOR ENFORCEMENT, ESTABLISH VENUE AND 19
PROVIDE REMEDIES FOR LEGAL ACTIONS FILED UNDER RIGHTS ESTABLISHED 20
BY THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 21
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 22
SECTION 1. (1) This act may be known and cited as the 23
"Robert G. Clark, Jr., Voting Rights Act of Mississippi." 24
(2) In order to advance the protections for the right to 25
vote under the Mississippi Constitution and the United States 26
Constitution; the guarantees of equal protection, freedom of 27
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expression, and freedom of association under the Mississippi 28
Constitution and United States Constitution; to protect against 29
the suppression, dilution and abridgment of voting rights on 30
account of race, color or membership in a language minority group; 31
and to honor and advance the legacy of Robert G. Clark, Jr., the 32
first Black member of the Mississippi Legislature elected after 33
Reconstruction, it is the public policy of this state to: 34
(a) Encourage participation in the elective franchise 35
by all eligible voters to the maximum extent; and 36
(b) Ensure that eligible voters have an equal 37
opportunity to participate in the political processes of this 38
State and to exercise the elective franchise without denying or 39
abridging that opportunity on account of race, color or membership 40
in a language minority group. 41
SECTION 2. For the purpose of this act: 42
(a) "Election policy or practice" means any 43
qualification to be a voter, prerequisite to voting, method of 44
election, or any other law, statute, ordinance, resolution, 45
charter or code provision, regulation, rule, policy, practice, 46
procedure, standard, or any other action with respect to voting, 47
electoral or jurisdictional boundaries, or the administration or 48
schedule of elections. 49
(b) "Governing body" means the entity with official 50
authority to make and/or enforce decisions, policies, and laws for 51
a political subdivision. 52
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(c) "Limited English proficient individuals" or "LEP 53
individuals" means individuals who self-report speaking, reading, 54
or understanding the English language less than "very well," 55
according to the United States Census Bureau data or data of 56
comparable quality collected by a governmental entity, including 57
as self-reported by such persons to a governmental entity. 58
(d) "Method of election" means the manner or mechanism 59
by which candidates are elected to a governmental body of a 60
political subdivision, and includes any at-large, district-based, 61
proportional, semi-proportional, or other method of election, as 62
well as any districting or redistricting plan used to elect 63
candidates to the governmental body. 64
(e) "Polling location" means any location designated by 65
the county or municipality for the casting of ballots, including, 66
but not limited to, Election Day voting sites and absentee voting 67
sites. 68
(f) "Political subdivision" means any county, 69
municipality, jurisdiction, school district, election commission, 70
circuit clerk, or any other governmental entity in which elections 71
are conducted or that administers elections, or any staff or 72
agents of such entity. 73
(g) "Protected class" means any group of individuals 74
who are members of any race, color or language minority, 75
including, but not limited to, a class of two (2) or more such 76
groups, and includes individuals who are members of a minimum 77
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reporting category that has been officially recognized by the 78
United States Census Bureau. 79
(h) "Racially polarized voting" means voting in which 80
there is a divergence in the candidate preferences, political 81
preferences, or electoral choices of members in a protected class, 82
including the combined preferences of a class comprised of two (2) 83
or more groups of voters, from the candidate preferences, 84
political preferences, or electoral choices of members of another 85
class or set of classes. 86
(i) "Disability" has the meaning as used in the 87
Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 USC § 12102. 88
(j) "Qualifying School" means a public or private 89
school accredited by the State, in which the predominant classroom 90
language is other than English. 91
(k) "Vote" or "voting" means all action necessary to 92
make a vote effective in any primary, special or general election, 93
including, but not limited to, registration or other action 94
required by law prerequisite to voting, casting a ballot by any 95
method permitted by law, including any method available as a 96
remedy under this act, and having such ballots counted properly 97
and included in the appropriate totals of votes received. 98
SECTION 3. (1) No political subdivision or state agency may 99
engage in voter suppression as set forth in this section. 100
(2) No political subdivision or state agency may implement, 101
impose or enforce any election policy or practice that results in, 102
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is likely to result in, or is motivated in whole or in part by the 103
intent to result in, voter suppression. 104
(3) A violation of subsection (2) of this section, is 105
established if the following is present: 106
(a) A material disparity affecting protected class 107
members in voter participation, access to voting opportunities, or 108
the opportunity or ability to participate in any stage of the 109
political process, as a result of the policy or practice; or 110
(b) Based on the totality of circumstances, an 111
impairment of the equal opportunity or ability of protected class 112
members to participate in any stage of the political process. 113
(4) There is no violation under subsection 3(a) of this 114
section, if the political subdivision or state agency demonstrates 115
by clear and convincing evidence that: 116
(a) The election policy or practice is necessary to 117
significantly further a compelling and particularized governmental 118
interest; and 119
(b) There is no reasonable alternative election policy 120
or practice that comparably furthers the compelling and 121
particularized governmental interest and results in a smaller 122
disparity between protected class members and other members of the 123
electorate. 124
(5) A violation may also be established through direct or 125
circumstantial evidence of intentional discrimination; however, 126
evidence of intentional discrimination, including evidence 127
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concerning the intent of electors, elected officials or public 128
officials to discriminate against protected class members, is 129
never required under subsection 3 of this section. 130
SECTION 4. (1) No political subdivision may engage in vote 131
dilution as set forth in this section. No political subdivision 132
may employ any method of election that has the effect, will likely 133
have the effect, or is motivated in part by the intent, of 134
diluting the vote of protected class members. 135
(2) A violation of subsection 1 of this section is 136
established if either: 137
(a) Elections in the political subdivision exhibit 138
racially polarized voting resulting in an impairment of the equal 139
opportunity or ability of protected class members to nominate or 140
elect candidates of their choice; or 141
(b) Based on the totality of circumstances, the equal 142
opportunity or ability of protected class members to nominate or 143
elect candidates of their choice is impaired; and 144
(c) Another method of election or change to the 145
existing method of election exists that could be constitutionally 146
adopted or ordered, and would likely mitigate the impairment. 147
(3) A violation may also be established through direct or 148
circumstantial evidence of intentional discrimination; however, 149
evidence of intentional discrimination, including evidence 150
concerning the intent of electors, elected officials, or public 151
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officials to discriminate against protected class members, is 152
never required under Section 3(3) of this act. 153
(4) No political subdivision may engage in vote dilution as 154
set forth in this subsection. 155
(a) As required by Section 5 of the Mississippi 156
Constitution, which declares that "All political power is vested 157
in, and derived from, the people; all government of right 158
originates with the people, is founded upon their will only, and 159
is instituted solely for the good of the whole," and Section 240 160
of the Mississippi Constitution, which declares that "All 161
elections by the people shall be by ballot," in any redistricting 162
plan under Section 254 of the Mississippi Constitution, the 163
districts shall be configured in such a way as to provide adequate 164
representation to protected classes protected by federal and State 165
law. Therefore, no Senatorial Districts and Representative 166
Districts shall be drawn such that the redistricting plan has the 167
effect, or is motived in part by the intent, of impairing the 168
opportunity or ability of members of a protected class to 169
participate in the political process and elect or nominate 170
candidates of their choice or otherwise influence the outcome of 171
elections as a result of diluting the vote of such protected class 172
members. The requirements imposed by this subsection are in 173
addition and subordinate to any requirements or obligations 174
imposed by the United States Constitution, any federal law 175
regarding redistricting Senatorial and Representative Districts, 176
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including, but not limited to, the federal Voting Rights Act of 177
1965, and the Mississippi Constitution. 178
(b) A redistricting plan under Section 254 of the 179
Mississippi Constitution for Senatorial Districts and 180
Representative Districts violates this subsection if either: 181
(i) 1. Elections in one or more Senatorial or 182
Representative Districts exhibit racially polarized voting 183
resulting in an impairment of the equal opportunity or ability of 184
protected class members to nominate or elect candidates of their 185
choice; or 186
2. Based on the totality of the 187
circumstances, the equal opportunity or ability of protected class 188
members to nominate or elect candidates of their choice or 189
otherwise influence the outcome of elections is impaired; and 190
(ii) One or more reasonably configured alternative 191
redistricting plans exist which would cure or mitigate the 192
impairment described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph by 193
providing members of a protected class an equal opportunity or 194
ability to nominate and elect candidates of their choice. For any 195
such reasonably configured alternative redistricting plan, it is 196
not necessary to show that members of a protected class comprise a 197
majority in any such districts. 198
SECTION 5. (1) Sections 4 and 5 of this act are evaluated 199
subject to the guidelines and rules enumerated below. 200
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(2) To evaluate the totality of circumstances under Sections 201
4 and 5 of this act, the following factors may be relevant: 202
(a) The history of discrimination with respect to the 203
protected class at issue; 204
(b) The extent to which members of the relevant 205
protected class are disadvantaged or otherwise bear the effects of 206
public or private discrimination in areas such as education, 207
employment, health, criminal justice, housing, transportation, 208
land use, or environmental protection; 209
(c) The use of any election policy or practice that may 210
enhance the discriminatory or dilutive effects of the relevant 211
election policy or practice or method of election in the political 212
subdivision; 213
(d) The extent to which members of the relevant 214
protected class vote or register to vote at lower rates; 215
(e) The extent to which members of the relevant 216
protected class have historically made campaign contributions at 217
lower rates; 218
(f) The extent to which candidates who are members of 219
the relevant protected class have faced hostility or barriers with 220
respect to campaigning, getting on the ballot, receiving financial 221
support or receiving any other support for an election; 222
(g) The use of overt or subtle racial appeals, whether 223
in the course of political campaigns or by government officials, 224
including racial appeals made in public discourse or in connection 225
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with the adoption or maintenance of the election policy or 226
practice; 227
(h) The extent to which the members of the relevant 228
protected class have been elected to office; 229
(i) The lack of responsiveness by elected officials to 230
the particular needs of members of the relevant protected class or 231
a community of members of the relevant protected class; 232
(j) Whether the election policy or practice is 233
necessary to significantly further a compelling and particularized 234
governmental interest; 235
(k) The process that led to the adoption of the 236
election policy or practice; and 237
(l) Other factors deemed relevant. 238
(3) No set number or combination of these factors must be 239
met to determine that a violation occurred. There is no 240
requirement that evidence must affect all individuals or groups 241
within a protected class to be relevant. 242
(4) For alleged violations pertaining to a particular 243
political subdivision or Senatorial or Representative District, 244
evidence of these factors may be deemed more probative if it 245
relates to the political subdivision or Senatorial or 246
Representative District in which the alleged violation occurred, 247
but evidence related to the state or the geographic region in 248
which that political subdivision or Senatorial or Representative 249
District is located may also be probative. The fact that similar 250
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or worse circumstances may exist in other political subdivisions 251
or districts does not reduce the probative value of the evidence 252
relevant to the particular political subdivision or district. 253
(5) To determine whether elections in the political 254
subdivision exhibit racially polarized voting under Section 255
4(2)(a)(i) of this act: 256
(a) Racially polarized voting is assessed based on the 257
relevant election results, which may include, but are not limited 258
to: 259
(i) Elections for offices of the political 260
subdivision or Senatorial or Representative District; 261
(ii) Elections held in the political subdivision 262
for other offices, such as state or federal offices; and 263
(iii) Other electoral choices that bear on the 264
rights and privileges of the protected class; and 265
(b) No set number or combination of elections is 266
required to establish the existence of racially polarized voting. 267
(i) Evidence of nonpolarized voting in elections 268
for offices outside the political subdivision or Senatorial or 269
Representative District does not preclude a finding of racially 270
polarized voting based on elections for offices of the political 271
subdivision or Senatorial or Representative District. 272
(ii) Non-statistical or nonquantitative evidence 273
does not preclude a finding of racially polarized voting based on 274
statistical or quantitative evidence. 275
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(iii) Low or high turnout or registration rates 276
among protected class members does not preclude a finding of 277
racially polarized voting. 278
(6) When assessing the combined candidate preferences, 279
political preferences or electoral choices of a protected class 280
comprised of two (2) or more groups of voters, there is no 281
requirement that it be statistically shown that each group or 282
subgroup be separately polarized from those of other voters. 283
The causes of racially polarized voting are not relevant, and the 284
existence of alternative explanations, including partisan 285
explanations, does not preclude a finding of racially polarized 286
voting. 287
(7) When evaluating whether a violation of this act is 288
present: 289
The following circumstances are never relevant: 290
(a) The absolute number or share of protected class 291
members on whom the election policy or practice imposes a material 292
burden is small; 293
(b) The degree to which the election policy or practice 294
has a long pedigree or was in widespread use at some earlier date; 295
(c) The use of an identical or similar election policy 296
or practice in other states or political subdivisions; or 297
(d) The availability of forms of voting unimpacted by 298
the election policy or practice. 299
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(8) A governmental interest in preventing voter fraud or 300
bolstering voter confidence in the integrity of elections is 301
irrelevant unless there is substantial evidence that criminal 302
activity by individual electors has occurred in the political 303
subdivision in substantial numbers and the connection between the 304
election policy or practice and a state interest in preventing 305
that type of criminal activity or bolstering voter confidence in 306
the integrity of elections is supported by substantial evidence. 307
Whether protected class members typically elect candidates of 308
their choice to the governing body in approximate proportion to 309
their total number or share of the population may be relevant 310
under Section 3(2) of this act. 311
For the purpose of satisfying Section 3(2) of this act, 312
including, it is not necessary for the total number or share of 313
protected class members to exceed any numerical threshold in any 314
district or in the political subdivision as a whole. 315
(9) Upon finding a violation of this act, notwithstanding 316
any other law, a court must exercise its equitable powers to 317
fashion relief so it completely remedies the dilution or 318
suppression, which may include, but is not limited to, altering 319
the method of election used by the political subdivision. 320
SECTION 6. (1) There is established the Mississippi Voting 321
Rights Commission. The Mississippi Voting Rights Commission has 322
the authority to promulgate rules under the Mississippi 323
Administrative Procedures Law. 324
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(2) The commission shall consist of five (5) commissioners, 325
each of whom shall serve staggered five-year terms. Commissioners 326
shall be compensated for their time spent on commission business 327
at an hourly rate based on the rate equivalent to an Assistant 328
Attorney General. 329
(3) A nominating committee shall be formed to identify 330
qualified candidates to serve as members of the commission. The 331
nominating committee shall be comprised of nominating 332
organizations. Organizations may apply with the Secretary of 333
State to be certified as a nominating organization for five-year 334
terms, at which point organizations may be recertified. The 335
Secretary of State must certify any organization that applies to 336
be a nominating organization, if the organization: 337
(a) Demonstrates commitment to the purpose of the 338
commission by securing the voting rights of members of a protected 339
class as defined by the commission, including, but not limited to, 340
reference to members of a protected class in its mission 341
statement, involvement in numerous voting rights cases brought 342
within the state on behalf of members of protected classes, or 343
involvement in advocacy in support of members of protected classes 344
or the commission; 345
(b) Has registered as a nonprofit corporation with the 346
Secretary of State; and 347
(c) Demonstrates continuous operation as a nonprofit 348
organization under 26 USC § 501(c)(3) or as a nonprofit 349
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corporation registered with the Secretary of State for at least 350
five (5) years. 351
(4) If the Secretary of State fails to timely certify an 352
organization that satisfies these qualifications following the 353
organization's application to be certified as a nominating 354
organization, the organization may file an action against the 355
Secretary of State for a declaratory judgment certifying the 356
organization as a nominating organization. 357
(5) A nominating organization may be removed for cause by a 358
majority vote of all of the nominating organizations. If there 359
are fewer than sixteen (16) nominating organizations certified by 360
the Secretary of State, the nominating committee shall consist of 361
all of the nominating organizations. If there are sixteen (16) or 362
more nominating organizations certified by the Secretary of State, 363
the nominating committee shall consist of sixteen (16) nominating 364
organizations to be randomly selected from all nominating 365
organizations on an annual basis. 366
(6) The nominating committee shall select its own chair to 367
preside over meetings and voting. 368
(7) Commissioners shall be selected as follows: 369
(a) The nominating committee shall solicit applications 370
to serve as a commissioner from across the state. A commissioner 371
must meet all of the following criteria: 372
(i) Be a Mississippi resident; 373
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(ii) Be a member of the Mississippi State Bar with 374
at least five (5) years of legal experience; 375
(iii) Has demonstrated experience representing or 376
advocating on behalf of members of protected classes; 377
(iv) Has not served in elected office within the 378
previous five (5) years; and 379
(v) Is not currently serving in any government 380
office or holding any political party office. 381
(b) The nominating committee shall maintain a qualified 382
candidate pool consisting of thirty (30) qualified candidates to 383
serve on the commission. Individuals shall only be added to the 384
qualified candidate pool upon a three-fifths (3/5) vote of the 385
nominating committee. The size of the qualified candidate pool 386
may be increased or decreased from thirty (30) qualified 387
individuals by a three-fifths (3/5) vote of the nominating 388
committee. 389
All commissioners shall be randomly selected from the 390
qualified candidate pool. Upon the initial formation of the 391
commission, five (5) commissioners shall be randomly selected from 392
the qualified candidate pool and randomly assigned to term lengths 393
of five (5) years, four (4) years, three (3) years, two (2) years, 394
or one (1) year. 395
(c) At least sixty (60) days before the conclusion of 396
each commissioner's term, a new commissioner shall be randomly 397
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selected from the qualified candidate pool to serve a five-year 398
term upon the conclusion of the current commissioner's term. 399
(d) Within thirty (30) days after a vacancy occurs on 400
the commission, a new commissioner shall be randomly selected from 401
the qualified candidate pool to complete the vacant term. 402
(8) The commission may hire staff and make expenditures as 403
necessary to carry out its responsibilities. 404
SECTION 7. (1) The implementation of a covered policy, as 405
defined in subsection (6) of this section, by a covered political 406
subdivision, as defined in subsection (7) of this section, must be 407
subject to preclearance by the Mississippi Voting Rights 408
Commission pursuant to this act. The Mississippi Voting Rights 409
Commission is responsible for administering this section. 410
(2) The Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must determine 411
on a fixed date on an annual basis which political subdivisions 412
are covered and publish a list of covered political subdivisions 413
on its website no later than thirty (30) days after making such 414
determinations. 415
(3) All coverage determinations must be made by the 416
Mississippi Voting Rights Commission based on data provided by the 417
database and institute, or if no such data is available, from 418
other reputable sources, including, but not limited to, the U.S. 419
Census Bureau data from the American Community Survey and other 420
federal or state offices. To the extent that necessary data is 421
not available, the Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must base 422
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coverage determinations on estimates derived from available data 423
using validated methodologies. 424
(4) The Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must give 425
notice directly to each covered political subdivision and the 426
corresponding requirements accompanying such coverage. 427
(5) The Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must promulgate 428
rules to implement this section. 429
(6) A covered policy includes the following: 430
(a) Any new or modified election policy or practice; 431
(b) Any change in the powers, duties, responsibilities, 432
jurisdiction, or authority of an elected official, or any action 433
or policy that has the purpose or effect of diminishing, 434
reassigning, or altering the functional role or influence of an 435
elected official; and 436
(c) Any new or modified method of election or 437
maintenance of a method of election following a decennial census. 438
(7) (a) Covered political subdivisions include any 439
political subdivision that, at any point in the previous 440
twenty-five (25) years, has been subject to a court order based 441
upon a judicial finding of a qualifying violation or its factual 442
predicate, or subject to a consent decree or court-approved 443
settlement agreement in which a qualifying violation was conceded 444
or stipulated by the political subdivision. 445
(b) A qualifying violation includes: 446
(i) A violation of this act; 447
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(ii) The federal Voting Rights Act; 448
(iii) The 15th or 24th Amendment to the United 449
States Constitution; 450
(iv) A voting-related violation of the 14th 451
Amendment to the United States Constitution; 452
(v) Any violation of any other state or federal 453
election law, concerning discrimination against protected class 454
members; or 455
(vi) A violation of any state or federal civil 456
rights law or the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution 457
concerning a pattern, policy or practice of discrimination against 458
protected class members. 459
(c) Any political subdivision that, at any point in the 460
last twenty-five (25) years, enacted or implemented a covered 461
policy without obtaining preclearance for that policy pursuant to 462
this section. 463
(d) Any political subdivision that contains at least 464
one thousand (1,000) eligible voters of any protected class, or in 465
which members of any protected class constitute at least ten 466
percent (10%) of the eligible voter population of such political 467
subdivision, and in which, at any point in the last ten (10) 468
years, the percentage of voters of any protected class in a 469
political subdivision which participated in any general election 470
for any political subdivision office was at least ten (10) 471
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percentage points lower than the percentage of all voters in the 472
political subdivision that participated in such election. 473
(e) Any political subdivision that contains at least 474
one thousand (1,000) eligible voters of any protected class, or in 475
which members of any protected class constitute at least ten 476
percent (10%) of the eligible voter population of the political 477
subdivision, and in which, at any point in the last ten (10) 478
years, the percentage of eligible voters of that protected class 479
who were registered to vote was at least ten (10) percentage 480
points lower than the percentage of all eligible voters in the 481
political subdivision who were registered to vote. 482
(f) Any political subdivision that contains at least 483
one thousand (1,000) eligible voters of any protected class, or in 484
which members of any protected class constitute at least ten 485
percent (10%) of the eligible voter population of the political 486
subdivision, and in which, at any point in the last ten (10) 487
years, the poverty rate among the population of a protected class 488
exceeded the poverty rate among the population of the political 489
subdivision as a whole by at least ten (10) percentage points. 490
(g) Any political subdivision that contains at least 491
one thousand (1,000) eligible voters of any protected class, or in 492
which members of any protected class constitute at least ten 493
percent (10%) of the eligible voter population of the political 494
subdivision, and in which, at any point in the last ten (10) 495
years, the arrest rate among members of such protected class 496
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exceeded the arrest rate among the population of the political 497
subdivision as a whole by at least 10 percentage points. 498
(h) Any political subdivision that contains at least 499
one thousand (1,000) eligible voters of any protected class, or in 500
which members of any protected class constitute at least ten 501
percent (10%) of the eligible voter population of the school 502
district, and in which, at any point in the last ten (10) years, 503
the percentage of eligible voters of that protected class who have 504
a High School diploma was at least ten (10) percentage points 505
lower than the percentage of all eligible voters in the political 506
subdivision who have a high school diploma. 507
(8) Any political subdivision that, at any point in the last 508
three (3) years, has failed to comply with obligations to provide 509
data or information to the statewide database. 510
(9) Preclearance submissions must be evaluated in accordance 511
with the standard set forth in this section. Preclearance must be 512
denied if the covered policy is more likely than not to diminish 513
the opportunity or ability of members of the protected class that 514
provided a basis for preclearance to participate in the political 515
process and, in order of priority: 516
(a) Elect candidates of their choice; 517
(b) Otherwise influence the outcome of elections; or 518
(c) The covered policy is more likely than not to 519
violate this act with respect to claims that could be brought by 520
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members of the protected class that provided a basis for 521
preclearance. 522
(10) If denial is not required under subsection (9) of this 523
section, preclearance must be granted. Covered political 524
subdivisions bear the burden of demonstrating that preclearance 525
must be granted under this standard. 526
(11) Covered political subdivisions must obtain preclearance 527
for covered policies in accordance with this section. Covered 528
political subdivisions must submit covered policies to the 529
Mississippi Voting Rights Commission in writing pursuant to 530
procedures determined by the Mississippi Voting Rights Commission. 531
The Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must ensure that 532
preclearance submissions and any related materials that are 533
submitted to the Mississippi Voting Rights Commission by covered 534
political subdivisions or other interested parties are posted in a 535
central location on its website in a timely fashion. The 536
Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must ensure that members of 537
the public have reasonable opportunity to review and submit 538
comments for consideration by the Mississippi Voting Rights 539
Commission before preclearance determinations are made. 540
(12) If the Mississippi Voting Rights Commission denies 541
preclearance to a covered policy, the covered political 542
subdivisions may not implement the covered policy. The 543
Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must provide a written 544
explanation for any denial. 545
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(13) If the Mississippi Voting Rights Commission grants 546
preclearance to a covered policy, the covered political 547
subdivision may immediately implement the covered policy. 548
(14) A determination by the Mississippi Voting Rights 549
Commission to grant preclearance is not admissible in, and may not 550
be considered by, a court in any subsequent action challenging the 551
covered policy. It does not preclude, bar, or limit in any way 552
any other claims that may be brought regarding the covered policy, 553
including claims brought under other sections of this act. 554
SECTION 8. (1) (a) The Mississippi Voting Rights 555
Commission is responsible for administering this subsection. 556
(b) The Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must 557
determine every two (2) years which political subdivisions meet 558
the demographic threshold for language access coverage per the 559
parameters of Section 8(2) of this act, and publish a list of 560
covered political subdivisions and the languages for which they 561
are required to provide language access on its website, no later 562
than thirty (30) days after making such determinations. 563
(c) All coverage determinations must be made by the 564
Mississippi Voting Rights Commission based on data produced and 565
maintained by the database and institute, or if no such data is 566
available, from the U.S. Census Bureau data from the American 567
Community Survey or other data of comparable quality collected by 568
a public office. To the extent that necessary data is not 569
available, the Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must base 570
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coverage determinations on estimates derived from available data 571
using validated methodologies. 572
(d) The Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must give 573
notice directly to each covered political subdivision specifying 574
the language or languages for which the subdivision is covered, 575
and the corresponding requirements accompanying such coverage. 576
(e) The Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must 577
promulgate rules to implement this subsection. 578
(2) (a) Political subdivisions will be required to 579
implement language assistance programs when found to meet certain 580
demographic thresholds for voting-eligible LEP individuals in 581
accordance with this subsection. 582
The Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must designate one 583
or more languages, other than English, for which language 584
assistance in voting and elections must be provided Tier 1 585
assistance as required in this section, by a state agency or a 586
political subdivision responsible for election administration if: 587
(i) More than two percent (2%), but in no instance 588
fewer than two hundred (200) individuals, of the voting-eligible 589
population of a political subdivision are members of a single 590
language minority and are LEP individuals; or 591
(ii) More than five percent (5%)of the 592
voting-eligible population of such political subdivision are 593
members of a single language minority and are LEP individuals; or 594
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(iii) In the case of a political subdivision that 595
contains in whole or in part a Native American reservation or 596
other Tribal land, more than two percent (2%) of the Native 597
American voting-eligible population within the relevant Native 598
American reservation or other Tribal land are members of a single 599
language minority and are LEP individuals. 600
(b) If the voting-eligible population does not meet the 601
criteria necessary for Tier 1 assistance, the Mississippi Voting 602
Rights Commission must designate one or more languages, other than 603
English, for which Tier 2 language assistance in voting and 604
elections must be provided as required in this section, by a state 605
agency or a political subdivision responsible for election 606
administration if it is determined that: 607
(i) More than one percent (1%), but in no instance 608
fewer than one hundred (100) individuals, of the voting-eligible 609
population of a political subdivision speak a particular shared 610
language other than English and are LEP individuals; or 611
(ii) More than three percent (3%) of the 612
voting-eligible population of such political subdivision speak a 613
particular shared language other than English and are LEP 614
individuals; or 615
(iii) In the case of a political subdivision that 616
contains in whole or in part a Native American reservation or 617
other Tribal land, more than two percent (2%) of the Native 618
American voting-eligible population within the relevant Native 619
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American reservation or other Tribal land speak a particular 620
shared language other than English and are LEP individuals. 621
(3) Political subdivisions covered under this section must 622
provide language assistance in accordance with the relevant 623
paragraph below. Compliance with this section requires materials 624
and assistance to be provided in a way designed to allow voters 625
who speak a particular shared language other than English to be 626
effectively informed of and participate effectively in 627
voting-connected activities. A political subdivision required to 628
provide Tier 1 language assistance, must ensure that each of the 629
following forms of voting assistance is effectively translated and 630
provided to LEP voters: 631
(a) Multilingual ballots - All official and sample 632
ballots used on election day and for absentee or mail voting must 633
be fully translated into the covered language and made available 634
to voters in all voting locations and online. 635
(b) Voter registration forms and instructions – All 636
forms used for voter registration, including online, mail and 637
in-person registration, along with any explanatory materials, must 638
be provided in the covered language. 639
(c) Voting-related notices – All public notices 640
relating to the electoral process, including notices about 641
registration deadlines, polling location changes, voter education 642
materials and voting instructions that provide direction during 643
the voting process must be fully translated and disseminated in 644
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the covered language to the same extent that English-language 645
notices are made available. 646
(d) Notice of in-language assistance availability – 647
Signage identifying the availability of translated ballots, 648
bilingual poll workers, and live over-the-phone interpretation 649
services must be made available in the covered language on the 650
political subdivision's website, at local elections offices and at 651
polling locations. 652
(e) In-person bilingual poll workers and interpreters – 653
Covered political subdivisions must have sufficiently trained 654
bilingual poll workers or interpreters available at each in-person 655
voting site to provide effective language assistance in the 656
covered language to any voters who need it. Bilingual staff must 657
be easily identifiable by LEP voters through prominently displayed 658
badges or other identifying materials indicating their bilingual 659
capabilities. 660
(f) Bilingual staff – Each political subdivision must 661
have a year-round bilingual staff member who is trained in its 662
election and voting procedures and able to respond to questions, 663
issues and the needs of covered language speakers within the 664
political subdivision. 665
(g) Live interpretation services via telephone – Live 666
language interpretation services by telephone, allowing voters to 667
request and receive real-time assistance in the covered language 668
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during early voting, on election day and for any voter-related 669
inquiries year-round, must be provided. 670
(h) Website – Any information relating to voter 671
registration, polling locations, official ballots or other 672
voting-related materials and notifications provided on the website 673
used by a political subdivision to share information related to 674
elections and voting must be made available in the covered 675
language. 676
(4) A political subdivision required to provide Tier 2 677
language assistance in a particular, language other than English, 678
must provide the following physical and online voting materials in 679
the covered language: 680
(a) Sample ballots – Sample ballots must be translated 681
into the covered language and made available at polling locations 682
and online, if English-language sample ballots are provided 683
online. 684
(b) Voter registration forms and instructions – Voter 685
registration forms and instructions must be provided in the 686
covered language to the same extent and manner as made available 687
in English, including direct mailings requested by a voter. 688
(c) Polling location changes and relocation notices – 689
Any notifications about polling location changes or relocations 690
must be provided in the covered language and disseminated in the 691
covered language to the same extent that English-language notices 692
are made available. 693
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(d) Notice of in-language assistance availability – 694
In-language signage identifying the availability of covered 695
language sample ballots and live over-the-phone interpretation 696
services must be made available on the political subdivision's 697
website, a local elections office and at polling locations during 698
voting periods. 699
(e) Live interpretation services via telephone – The 700
board of elections or political subdivision must provide live 701
language interpretation services by telephone, allowing voters to 702
request and receive real-time assistance in the covered language 703
during early voting, on election day and for any voter-related 704
inquiries year-round. 705
(5) Where a state agency creates, produces or disseminates 706
relevant physical or online electoral and voting materials for or 707
to political subdivisions subject to the requirements of this 708
section, the state must also comply with the requirements of this 709
section. 710
(6) For covered languages that do not have a written form or 711
for which use of the written form is limited, the subdivision 712
shall provide recordings of oral translations or provide taglines 713
or signage indicating how to access oral translations of required 714
written assistance. 715
(7) No voter who has attended a qualifying School may be 716
denied the right to vote in any state or local election because of 717
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their inability to read, write, understand or interpret any matter 718
in the English language. 719
(8) The Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must establish 720
a review process under which the Mississippi Voting Rights 721
Commission must determine, upon receipt of a request submitted 722
under this section, whether a significant and substantial need 723
exists in a political subdivision for a language to be designated 724
for additional language access and assistance in voting and 725
elections whenever such a need has not been found. 726
(9) Such process as required in subsection (8) of this 727
section, must include, at a minimum: 728
(a) An opportunity for any individual or entity 729
aggrieved by a failure to provide such assistance to submit a 730
request for the Mississippi Voting Rights Commission to consider 731
designating a new language for coverage or providing additional 732
in-language services. Individuals or entities aggrieved by such 733
failure are those who have standing as defined in this act. 734
(b) A timeline specifying when requests for additional 735
in-language services may be submitted to be considered timely for 736
the next election; and 737
(c) Consideration of the following: 738
(i) Community-based evidence indicating the need 739
for in-language services including, but not limited to, school 740
enrollment data, public health or social service records, 741
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language-specific outreach from community-based organizations, and 742
other reliable evidence; 743
(ii) Testimony or affidavits from individuals or 744
entities representing or serving the language minority community, 745
including impacted voters; 746
(iii) Evidence of structural, procedural or 747
informational barriers that disproportionately impact LEP voters 748
in the language group, including low turnout rates, high 749
provisional ballot use or lack of access to translated materials. 750
(10) Upon receipt of any such request, the Mississippi 751
Voting Rights Commission must: 752
(a) Respond in writing within fourteen (14) days of 753
receipt of any such request; 754
(b) Provide an opportunity for public comment following 755
the publication of a proposed determination; and 756
(c) Issue a written decision that includes all factors 757
considered. All final decisions shall be published on the 758
designated authorities website. 759
(11) Implementation of newly granted language services must 760
correspond to the next scheduled election in the relevant covered 761
political subdivision. If a request is granted too close to an 762
election to allow for meaningful implementation, the designation 763
shall take effect for the following election. 764
(12) All materials and notices provided by a political 765
subdivision as required by this section in a particular language 766
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other than English must be of an equal quality to the 767
corresponding English-language materials and produced at the same 768
time as the corresponding English-language materials. All 769
provided translated materials must convey the intent and essential 770
meaning of the original English-language text or communication. 771
Translated materials produced solely by automated translation 772
services are presumed to be insufficient to completely convey 773
intent and essential meaning. 774
(13) Political subdivisions providing language services in 775
accordance with this section must hold public meetings to solicit 776
feedback about the quality of all materials and services provided 777
in a particular language other than English, and barriers to 778
voting and registration for LEP voters and communities. These 779
meetings must be advertised at least two (2) months in advance, 780
held at a time and location generally convenient for the majority 781
of the electorate, and include live translation services in any 782
covered language. Election administrators must develop effective 783
recruitment practices for bilingual staff and poll workers based 784
on community feedback from such meetings. Political subdivisions 785
covered under this act must hold such a meeting at least twice per 786
year. 787
(14) Any voter who requires assistance at any stage of the 788
voting process, by reason of blindness, disability or inability to 789
read, write or understand any aspect of the voting process, has 790
the right to receive assistance from any person of the voter's 791
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choice, other than the voter's employer or agent of that employer 792
or officer or agent of the voter's union. 793
SECTION 9. (1) Within one (1) year of passage of this act, 794
the Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must select and enter 795
into an agreement with one or more universities in this state to 796
create and administer the Mississippi Voting and Elections 797
Database and Institute (henceforth referred to as the "database 798
and institute"). The parties to such agreement must enter into a 799
memorandum of understanding that sets forth the governance 800
structure for the database and institute within the university or 801
universities. 802
(2) The mission of the database and institute is to collect, 803
archive, and make publicly available at no cost an accessible 804
database pertaining to elections, voter registration and ballot 805
access in this state; to foster, pursue, and sponsor research on 806
existing laws and regulations; and to support and enable the 807
development of best practices in voting and elections by 808
leveraging data. 809
(3) The database and institute must maintain and make 810
publicly available in an electronic machine-readable format all 811
relevant election and voting data and records from at least the 812
previous twelve-year period, including, but not limited to, the 813
following: 814
(a) Precinct-level election results, including absentee 815
ballots, by voters registered broken out by precinct, registration 816
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data and turnout data for all elections, including elections at 817
the federal level, state level and for every political 818
subdivision, and, where available, any such data at the 819
sub-precinct level; 820
(b) District, precinct and, where available, 821
sub-precinct division maps in an electronic geospatial format 822
designated by the database and institute for all elections 823
conducted in the state, including federal or state elections, and 824
for every political subdivision; 825
(c) Current and historical data on the location, dates 826
of availability and hours of availability of polling locations and 827
other election offices that provide services to voters for every 828
election in every political subdivision in this state; 829
(d) Information concerning the elected offices and 830
electoral structure of each political subdivision, including, but 831
not limited to, the method of election or selection for each 832
elected office, the name, title and contact information for each 833
current elected official, the commencement and expiration dates of 834
each term of office and the date on which each office is next 835
scheduled for election, and any additional information the 836
database and institute deems necessary to accurately describe the 837
governing and electoral structure for each political subdivision; 838
(e) Any notice letter received by a political 839
subdivision pursuant to this act and any public filings, including 840
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in litigation, made by a political subdivision in connection with 841
this act; and 842
(f) Any other data that is maintained by the state or 843
political subdivisions that the database and institute considers 844
necessary to maintain in furtherance of its mission. 845
(4) The database and institute must produce, maintain and 846
make publicly available in an electronic machine-readable format 847
any other data or data products in furtherance of its mission, 848
including, but not limited to, the following: 849
(a) Estimates of the total population, voting age 850
population and citizen voting age population by racial, color or 851
language-minority group, broken down to the precinct level, on a 852
year-by-year basis, for every political subdivision in this state, 853
based on existing sources of data from the United States Census 854
Bureau, American Community Survey, or existing sources of data of 855
comparable quality collected by a public office; 856
(b) Estimates of limited English proficient 857
populations, broken down by language spoken and by political 858
subdivision level, on a year-by-year basis, for every political 859
subdivision in this state, based on data from the United States 860
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, or data of comparable 861
quality collected by a public office; 862
(c) Relationship files following any changes to 863
precinct boundaries or numbers, to enable apportioning election 864
results under past precinct boundaries to current precinct 865
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boundaries, analogous to relationship files provided by the U.S. 866
Census Bureau; 867
(d) List maintenance records, including records of 868
voters purged or placed on the inactive list, as well as records 869
of voter and/or state-initiated challenges to voter eligibility; 870
(e) Post-election challenges, including, but not 871
limited to, challenges to voter eligibility at ballot counting, 872
challenges to ballots being counted, challenges to the 873
certification of the election results, post-election audit reports 874
and/or any recounts; and 875
(f) Any data or estimates identified by the Mississippi 876
Voting Rights Commission as necessary to make coverage 877
determinations as required by this act. 878
(5) In addition to maintaining the public database, the 879
database and institute may do any of the following: 880
(a) Conduct classes both for credit and noncredit; 881
(b) Organize interdisciplinary groups of scholars to 882
research voting and elections in this state; 883
(c) Conduct seminars regarding voting and elections; 884
(d) Assist in the dissemination of election data to the 885
public; or 886
(e) Publish reports, books and periodicals as the 887
database and institute considers appropriate on voting and 888
elections in this state. 889
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(6) The database and institute must prepare any estimates 890
made under this section by applying the most advanced, 891
peer-reviewed and validated methodologies available. In preparing 892
any estimates under this section, the database and institute must 893
apply validated methodologies and engage with impacted communities 894
to adjust estimates for documented inaccuracies, errors or biases, 895
including, but not limited to, population miscounts or exclusions, 896
in data from the United States Census Bureau or American Community 897
Survey. 898
(7) The data, information and estimates maintained by the 899
database and institute are entitled to a presumption of 900
authenticity and constitute judicially noticeable facts. 901
(8) All state agencies and political subdivisions must 902
provide the database and institute with any information requested 903
by the database and institute in the format requested by the 904
database and institute and consistent with any deadlines imposed 905
by the database and institute. 906
(9) The database and institute will provide nonpartisan 907
technical assistance to political subdivisions, scholars and the 908
public seeking to use its resources. 909
(10) If any political subdivision receives a request for 910
documents under state open records laws, the political subdivision 911
is not required to fulfill such request if: 912
(a) The political subdivision has provided the 913
requested documents to the database and institute; 914
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(b) The requested documents have been made publicly 915
available by the database and institute; and 916
(c) The political subdivision informs the requestor in 917
writing that the requested documents are available from the 918
database and institute and provides in their written answer 919
directions for accessing the specifically requested materials 920
through the database and institute. 921
(11) No later than ninety (90) days following the end of 922
each state fiscal year, the database and institute must publish a 923
report on its activities. 924
SECTION 10. (1) No person, whether acting under color of 925
law or otherwise, may engage in or attempt to engage in acts of 926
intimidation, deception or obstruction that affect the right of 927
voters to participate in elections. Violations of this section 928
include, but are not limited to, the following: 929
(a) A person uses, threatens to use or attempts to use 930
any force, violence, restraint, abduction or duress, or inflicts, 931
threatens to inflict or attempts to inflict any injury, damage, 932
harm or loss, or in any other manner practices or attempts to 933
practice intimidation that causes or will reasonably have the 934
effect of causing any person to vote or refrain from voting; 935
(b) A person uses or attempts to use any deceptive or 936
fraudulent device, contrivance or communication, regarding the 937
time, place or manner of conducting an election or the 938
qualifications for or restrictions on voter eligibility for an 939
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election, with reckless disregard for the truth, that impedes, 940
prevents or otherwise interferes with the free exercise of the 941
elective franchise by any person, or that causes or will 942
reasonably have the effect of causing any person to vote or 943
refrain from voting; or 944
(c) A person obstructs, impedes or otherwise 945
interferes, or attempts to obstruct, impede or otherwise interfere 946
with access to any polling location or elections office, or with 947
any voter in any manner that causes or would reasonably have the 948
effect of causing any delay in voting or the voting process, 949
including the canvassing, certification and tabulation of ballots. 950
(2) A person who violates this section or who aids in the 951
violation of this section shall be liable for any damages awarded 952
by the court, including nominal damages for any violation and 953
compensatory or punitive damages for any willful violation. 954
(3) Nothing in this section, nor in its enforcement, shall 955
be construed to prohibit any activity protected under the 956
Constitution of the United States. 957
SECTION 11. (1) All political subdivisions must provide 958
advance notice of any new or modified election policy or practice 959
to the Mississippi Voting Rights Commission prior to 960
implementation as follows: 961
(a) All political subdivisions must provide notice to 962
Mississippi Voting Rights Commission a minimum of sixty (60) days 963
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prior to implementing any changes to government boundaries, method 964
of election or district maps. 965
(b) All political subdivisions must provide notice to 966
the Mississippi Voting Rights Commission a minimum of fifteen (15) 967
days prior to implementing any changes to the location, dates of 968
availability and hours of availability of polling locations and 969
other election offices that provide services to voters. 970
(c) All political subdivisions must provide notice to 971
the Mississippi Voting Rights Commission a minimum of thirty (30) 972
days prior to implementing any other new or modified election 973
policy or practice. 974
(2) The Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must publish 975
all advance notices provided by political subdivisions in a 976
centralized, publicly accessible location on its website. This 977
section provides minimum notice requirements and does not supplant 978
or override notice required by other laws or authorities. 979
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, any 980
political subdivision that complies with subsection (1) of this 981
section is not required to meet any local publication requirements 982
beyond publishing notice on its own website. 983
(4) The Mississippi Voting Rights Commission must promulgate 984
rules under the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law to 985
implement this section, including, but not limited to, the minimum 986
time period of advance notice required prior to implementation of 987
each type of new or modified election policy or practice, 988
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standards and procedures for the temporary implementation of 989
election policies and practices notwithstanding the timelines in 990
this section in response to an officially declared emergency or 991
disaster, the required form and manner of notice submission by 992
political subdivisions, and civil penalties for political 993
subdivisions that fail to comply with this section. 994
SECTION 12. (1) Any provision of state law, regulation, 995
charter, home rule ordinance or other enactment of the state or 996
any political subdivision relating to voting or the right to vote 997
must be construed liberally in favor of the factors listed below. 998
To the extent courts are afforded discretion on any issue, 999
including, but not limited to, questions concerning discovery, 1000
procedure, admissibility of evidence or remedies, it is the policy 1001
of the state that courts must exercise that discretion, and weigh 1002
other equitable discretion, in favor of the factors listed below: 1003
(a) Making voting, the fundamental right to vote and 1004
the ability to participate in the democratic process more 1005
accessible to eligible voters; 1006
(b) Safeguarding and vindicating, to the fullest extent 1007
possible by law, the voting rights of protected class members, 1008
including, but not limited to, equitable access to opportunities 1009
to register to vote and vote, and the equal opportunity to elect 1010
candidates of choice; and 1011
(c) Ensuring protected class members have full access 1012
to relief from discrimination in voting. 1013
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(2) An action to cure a violation of this act may be brought 1014
by any individual or entity aggrieved by a violation of this act 1015
or by the Attorney General. An entity aggrieved by a violation of 1016
this act includes, but is not limited to, any entity: 1017
(a) Whose membership includes individuals aggrieved by 1018
a violation of this act; or 1019
(b) Whose mission would be frustrated by a violation of 1020
this act, including, but not limited to, an entity that would 1021
expend or divert resources to fulfill its mission as a result of 1022
such violation or who must expend greater resources or efforts to 1023
advocate before an elected body that is less responsive to the 1024
entity or its members due to the alleged violation. 1025
(3) An entity must not be compelled to disclose the identity 1026
of any specific member to pursue a claim on behalf of its members. 1027
(4) This section must be construed liberally to confer 1028
standing as broadly as the State Constitution permits. 1029
(5) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this subsection, 1030
before filing an action against a political subdivision under this 1031
act, a party described in paragraph (c) of this subsection, except 1032
for the Attorney General must send a notice letter to the 1033
political subdivision identifying the potential violation(s) and 1034
the type of remedy the party believes may address the potential 1035
violation(s). The party may not file an action within fifty (50) 1036
days after sending the notice letter. 1037
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(a) The political subdivision may work with the party 1038
that provided notice to implement a remedy that cures the 1039
potential violation(s). If the legislative body of the political 1040
subdivision adopts a resolution identifying a remedy, affirming 1041
its intent to enact and implement a remedy, and establishing a 1042
timeline and specific steps it will take to do so, the party may 1043
not file an action within one hundred twenty (120) days after 1044
sending the notice letter. 1045
(b) In response to a notice letter, the political 1046
subdivision may adopt a resolution denying that a violation 1047
exists, or otherwise formally deny a violation, which will 1048
abrogate the fifty-day waiting period described in paragraph (b) 1049
of this subsection, and permit the party who sent a notice letter 1050
to file an action immediately. 1051
(c) If, under the laws of this state, the legislative 1052
body of a political subdivision lacks authority to enact or 1053
implement a remedy identified in such a resolution, the political 1054
subdivision may nonetheless enact and implement a proposed remedy 1055
upon approval of a court of suitable jurisdiction. 1056
(d) Following the party's submission of a notice 1057
letter, the party may file an action if the political subdivision 1058
has not enacted or implemented a remedy within the time periods 1059
designated by this subsection or the political subdivision has 1060
enacted or implemented a remedy that would not remedy the 1061
violation identified in the party's notice letter. 1062
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(e) A party with standing pursuant to Section 11(a) of 1063
this act may file an action against a political subdivision under 1064
this act notwithstanding this subsection if: 1065
(i) The party is seeking preliminary relief with 1066
respect to an upcoming election; 1067
(ii) Another party has already submitted a notice 1068
letter alleging a substantially similar violation, and that party 1069
is eligible to file an action under this section; or 1070
(iii) The prospect of obtaining relief under 1071
Section 11(b)(i) of this act would be futile. 1072
(6) An action to enforce this act may be brought in trial 1073
court pursuant to the rules of civil procedure, or in the First 1074
Judicial District of Hinds County in Jackson, Mississippi. 1075
(7) Actions concerning Section 6 or 7 of this act may only 1076
be filed under the following circumstances: 1077
(a) A political subdivision that has been designated as 1078
a covered political subdivision under Section 6 or 7 of this act 1079
may challenge the determination within thirty (30) days of its 1080
publication in accordance with applicable state law governing 1081
challenges to agency action, including the applicable standard of 1082
review of such actions. Such actions may only be filed by the 1083
covered political subdivision, and intervention is not permitted. 1084
(b) Any party with standing as defined in this section, 1085
that is aggrieved by the exclusion of a political subdivision from 1086
the list of covered political subdivisions established in this 1087
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act, may file an action to challenge the exclusion of a political 1088
subdivision. Such actions are subject to a three-year statute of 1089
limitations, accruing from the date of any coverage 1090
determinations, and are subject to a de novo standard of review. 1091
(c) Any denial of preclearance by the Mississippi 1092
Voting Rights Commission may be appealed only by the covered 1093
political subdivision within thirty (30) days of the denial in 1094
accordance with applicable state law governing challenges to 1095
agency action, including the applicable standard of review of such 1096
actions. Such actions may only be filed by the covered political 1097
subdivision and intervention is not permitted. 1098
(d) Any party that is aggrieved by a determination by 1099
the Mississippi Voting Rights Commission to grant preclearance to 1100
a covered policy, may file an action to challenge the 1101
determination to grant preclearance. Such actions are subject to 1102
a de novo standard of review. 1103
(e) If the Mississippi Voting Rights Commission fails 1104
to discharge any of its responsibilities under this act or any 1105
other action necessary to enforce a provision of this act, any 1106
party, as defined in Section 11(a) of this act, that is aggrieved 1107
by this failure may file an action seeking appropriate relief, 1108
including, but not limited to, any injunctive relief on the 1109
Mississippi Voting Rights Commission or any other party to the 1110
action that is necessary to enforce this act. Such actions are 1111
subject to a de novo standard of review. 1112
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(8) Actions brought pursuant to this act must be subject to 1113
expedited pretrial and trial proceedings and receive an automatic 1114
calendar preference. 1115
(9) In any action alleging a violation of this act in which 1116
a party seeks preliminary relief with respect to an upcoming 1117
election, a court must grant relief if it determines that: 1118
(a) The plaintiffs are more likely than not to succeed 1119
on the merits; and 1120
(b) It is possible to implement an appropriate remedy 1121
that would resolve the alleged violation in the upcoming election. 1122
(10) Upon finding a violation of any provision of this act, 1123
a court must order appropriate remedies notwithstanding any other 1124
law. 1125
(11) The court has authority to order remedies that are 1126
tailored to best mitigate the violation, including any and all 1127
forms of preliminary and injunctive relief. The court may 1128
consider, among others, any remedy that is available to a federal 1129
court or the court of another state jurisdiction, including 1130
through a court-approved consent decree or settlement adopted in 1131
the context of similar facts or to remedy a similar violation. 1132
The court must consider proposed remedies by any parties and 1133
interested nonparties. 1134
(12) The court may not give deference or priority to a 1135
remedy proposed by the political subdivision. 1136
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(13) A remedy ordered under this section must be implemented 1137
in the next relevant election, scheduled or ordered, wherever 1138
possible. 1139
(14) This act provides rights and remedies under state law 1140
to enforce state constitutional rights or statutory rights and 1141
does not enforce any rights established under the U.S. 1142
Constitution or federal law. Nothing in this act may be construed 1143
to create a cause of action under federal law. Persuasive use of 1144
relevant federal legal standards, precedents or evidentiary 1145
frameworks to aid in the interpretation or application of this act 1146
should not be construed to give rise to a federal question. 1147
Moreover, use of such federal legal standards, precedents, or 1148
evidentiary frameworks may be persuasive, but is not necessary to 1149
the interpretation or application of this act. 1150
(15) Defendants in actions under this act may not assert the 1151
doctrine of laches as a defense to claims brought under this act. 1152
Political subdivisions may not assert that plaintiffs have failed 1153
to comply with any notice, exhaustion or other procedural 1154
requirements under state law, other than the requirements in this 1155
section, as a defense to claims brought under this section. 1156
(16) In any action to enforce any provision of this act, a 1157
prevailing plaintiff party, other than the state or a political 1158
subdivision, is entitled to recover all reasonable costs and fees 1159
from the defendant party. Costs and fees include, but are not 1160
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ST: Robert G. Clark, Jr., Voting Rights Act of
Mississippi; enact.
limited to, attorneys' fees, expert witness fees and all other 1161
litigation or pre-litigation fees and costs. 1162
(17) A plaintiff will be deemed to have prevailed in an 1163
action when, as a result of a suit or notice letter, the defendant 1164
party yields some or all of the relief sought in the action. 1165
(18) If the state or political subdivision prevails in an 1166
action under this act, the court may not award the defendant party 1167
any fees or costs unless the court finds the action to be 1168
frivolous, unreasonable or without foundation. 1169
(19) If any provision of this act or its application to any 1170
person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity must be 1171
applied as narrowly as possible and the remaining provisions and 1172
applications must remain in effect to the fullest extent possible. 1173
(20) In any action under this act or any other 1174
voting-related violation of state or federal law, no sovereign, 1175
governmental, executive, legislative, or deliberative immunities 1176
and privileges, including any evidentiary privileges, may be 1177
asserted. However, this section has no effect on any 1178
attorney-client or attorney work-product privileges. 1179
SECTION 13. This act shall take effect and be in force from 1180
and after July 1, 2026. 1181