Election commissioners; outline duties of.

S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 1 (ab\kr)

To: Elections
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) England

SENATE BILL NO. 2586

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-213, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO OUTLINE DUTIES OF ELECTION COMMISSIONERS; TO REQUIRE THAT TO 2
PERFORM SAID DUTIES, ELECTION COMMISSIONERS MUST BE ISSUED CERTAIN 3
OFFICE SPACE AND SUPPLIES TO WORK WITH; TO AMEND SECTIONS 4
23-15-215 AND 23-15-221, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; AND 5
FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 7
SECTION 1. Section 23-15-213, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 8
amended as follows: 9
[Until December 31, 2027, this section shall read as 10
follows:] 11
23-15-213. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this 12
section, there shall be elected five (5) election commissioners 13
for each county whose terms of office shall commence on the first 14
Monday of January following their election and who shall serve for 15
a term of four (4) years. Each of the commissioners shall be 16
required to attend a training seminar provided by the Secretary of 17
State and satisfactorily complete a skills assessment, and before 18
acting, shall take and subscribe the oath of office prescribed by 19
the Constitution. The oath shall be filed in the office of the 20
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 2 (ab\kr)

clerk of the chancery court. Upon filing the oath of office, the 21
election commissioner may be provided access to the Statewide 22
Elections Management System for the purpose of performing his or 23
her duties. Such skills assessment shall only be required once 24
every four (4) years. While engaged in their duties, the 25
commissioners shall be conservators of the peace in the county, 26
with all the duties and powers of such. 27
(2) (a) At the general election in 2024 and every four (4) 28
years thereafter, the qualified electors of the board of 29
supervisors' Districts One, Three and Five shall elect in their 30
district one (1) election commissioner. 31
(b) At the general election in 2027, the qualified 32
electors of the board of supervisors' Districts Two and Four shall 33
elect in their district one (1) election commissioner, who shall 34
serve for a term of three (3) years. 35
(c) No more than one (1) commissioner shall be a 36
resident of and reside in each supervisor's district of the 37
county; it being the purpose of this section that the county board 38
of election commissioners shall consist of one (1) person from 39
each supervisor's district of the county and that each 40
commissioner be elected from the supervisor's district in which he 41
or she resides. 42
(3) Candidates for county election commissioner shall 43
qualify by filing with the clerk of the board of supervisors of 44
their respective counties a petition personally signed by not less 45
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 3 (ab\kr)

than fifty (50) qualified electors of the supervisor's district in 46
which they reside, requesting that they be a candidate, by 5:00 47
p.m. not later than February 1 of the year in which the election 48
occurs and unless the petition is filed within the required time, 49
their names shall not be placed upon the ballot. All candidates 50
shall declare in writing their party affiliation, if any, to the 51
board of supervisors, and such party affiliation shall be shown on 52
the official ballot. 53
(4) The petition shall have attached thereto a certificate 54
of the county registrar showing the number of qualified electors 55
on each petition, which shall be furnished by the registrar on 56
request. The board shall determine the sufficiency of the 57
petition, and if the petition contains the required number of 58
signatures and is filed within the time required, the president of 59
the board shall verify that the candidate is a resident of the 60
supervisor's district in which he or she seeks election and that 61
the candidate is otherwise qualified as provided by law, and shall 62
certify that the candidate is qualified to the chair or secretary 63
of the county election commission and the names of the candidates 64
shall be placed upon the ballot for the ensuing election. No 65
county election commissioner shall serve or be considered as 66
elected until he or she has received a majority of the votes cast 67
for the position or post for which he or she is a candidate. If a 68
majority vote is not received in the first election, then the two 69
(2) candidates receiving the most votes for each position or post 70
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 4 (ab\kr)

shall be placed upon the ballot for a second election to be held 71
four (4) weeks later in accordance with appropriate procedures 72
followed in other elections involving runoff candidates. 73
(5) In the first meeting in January of each year, the county 74
election commissioners shall organize by electing a chair and a 75
secretary, who shall serve a one-year term. The county election 76
commissioners shall provide the names of the chair and secretary 77
to the Secretary of State and provide notice of any change in 78
officers which may occur during the year. 79
(6) It shall be the duty of the chair to have the official 80
ballot printed and distributed at each general or special 81
election. 82
(7) In addition to the duties listed above, election 83
commissioners shall also be required to: 84
(a) Obtain proper certification by successfully passing 85
the yearly skills assessment from the Secretary of State's Office, 86
in order to conduct all state and/or county elections; 87
(b) Have proficient computer skills and the ability to 88
perform basic computer functions; 89
(c) Possess proficient knowledge of Microsoft Office 90
products, such as, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft 91
PowerPoint; 92
(d) Maintain adequate knowledge and skills to properly 93
operate the SEMS systems; 94
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 5 (ab\kr)

(e) Obtain access to SEMS in order to change voter 95
status, purge voters, merge voters, run necessary reports, run 96
poll books and build elections necessary for municipal and county 97
elections; 98
(f) Be familiar with and have a working knowledge of 99
all the voting equipment used; 100
(g) Possess the ability to test the voting equipment 101
used; 102
(h) Have basic knowledge of how to build and use test 103
decks used to test the scanning voting equipment used; 104
(i) Train poll managers on all applicable state and 105
federal voting laws and to properly conduct elections according to 106
the Mississippi Elections Code, as well how to properly use the 107
voting equipment; 108
(j) Maintain the voter roles for the County and 109
District by: 110
(i) Possessing access to all areas dealing with 111
voter roll management in SEMS in order to change voter status, 112
purge voters when necessary, change voters to other voting 113
districts in the state and run necessary reports; and 114
(ii) Keeping voting records for all districts; 115
(k) Have knowledge of how to create security devices on 116
all voting devices; 117
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 6 (ab\kr)

(l) If used, have knowledge on how to upload data onto 118
electronic poll books as well as retrieving final election data 119
after the election concludes; 120
(m) Maintain current knowledge of all statutes 121
governing the election processes, including: 122
(i) Knowing election and polling place protocols; 123
(ii) Being able to determine voter polling sites, 124
if necessary; 125
(iii) Knowing how to address breaches of statute 126
by a voter, candidate, poll manager and/or poll watchers; and 127
(iv) Counting ballots, canvasing election results 128
and certifying elections; 129
(n) Keep proper minutes of all Election Commission 130
meetings available for public inspection; 131
(o) Be familiar with proper procedure, according to the 132
Mississippi Ethics Division, when visitors attend one (1) of the 133
meetings of the Election Commission; and 134
(p) Be familiar with the procedure when an election is 135
challenged. 136
(8) In order to fulfill all the duties listed above, the 137
following materials shall be issued to all Election Commissioners: 138
(a) A proper office space for each commissioner; 139
(b) A computer, equipped with a printer; 140
(c) Adequate storage equipment to store all work 141
performed by each commissioner; 142
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 7 (ab\kr)

(d) An office copy machine; 143
(e) Desk top scanners for each commissioner; 144
(f) Adequate storage space for election materials and 145
supplies; and 146
(g) Proper storage space for voting machines, if 147
machines are to be stored in the election commissioner's office. 148
[From and after January 1, 2028, this section shall read as 149
follows:] 150
23-15-213. (1) There shall be elected five (5) election 151
commissioners for each county whose terms of office shall commence 152
on the first Monday of January following their election and who 153
shall serve for a term of four (4) years. Each of the 154
commissioners shall be required to attend a training seminar 155
provided by the Secretary of State and satisfactorily complete a 156
skills assessment, and before acting, shall take and subscribe the 157
oath of office prescribed by the Constitution. The oath shall be 158
filed in the office of the clerk of the chancery court. Upon 159
filing the oath of office, the election commissioner may be 160
provided access to the Statewide Elections Management System for 161
the purpose of performing his or her duties. Such skills 162
assessment shall only be required once every four (4) years. 163
While engaged in their duties, the commissioners shall be 164
conservators of the peace in the county, with all the duties and 165
powers of such. 166
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 8 (ab\kr)

(2) (a) At the general election in 2028 and every four (4) 167
years thereafter, the qualified electors of the board of 168
supervisors' Districts One, Three and Five shall elect in their 169
district one (1) election commissioner. 170
(b) At the general election in 2030 and every four (4) 171
years thereafter, the qualified electors of the board of 172
supervisors' Districts Two and Four shall elect in their district 173
one (1) election commissioner. 174
(c) No more than one (1) commissioner shall be a 175
resident of and reside in each supervisor's district of the 176
county; it being the purpose of this section that the county board 177
of election commissioners shall consist of one (1) person from 178
each supervisor's district of the county and that each 179
commissioner be elected from the supervisor's district in which he 180
or she resides. 181
(3) Candidates for county election commissioner shall 182
qualify by filing with the clerk of the board of supervisors of 183
their respective counties a petition personally signed by not less 184
than fifty (50) qualified electors of the supervisor's district in 185
which they reside, requesting that they be a candidate, by 5:00 186
p.m. not later than February 1 of the year in which the election 187
occurs and unless the petition is filed within the required time, 188
their names shall not be placed upon the ballot. All candidates 189
shall declare in writing their party affiliation, if any, to the 190
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 9 (ab\kr)

board of supervisors, and such party affiliation shall be shown on 191
the official ballot. 192
(4) The petition shall have attached thereto a certificate 193
of the county registrar showing the number of qualified electors 194
on each petition, which shall be furnished by the registrar on 195
request. The board shall determine the sufficiency of the 196
petition, and if the petition contains the required number of 197
signatures and is filed within the time required, the president of 198
the board shall verify that the candidate is a resident of the 199
supervisor's district in which he or she seeks election and that 200
the candidate is otherwise qualified as provided by law, and shall 201
certify that the candidate is qualified to the chair or secretary 202
of the county election commission and the names of the candidates 203
shall be placed upon the ballot for the ensuing election. No 204
county election commissioner shall serve or be considered as 205
elected until he or she has received a majority of the votes cast 206
for the position or post for which he or she is a candidate. If a 207
majority vote is not received in the first election, then the two 208
(2) candidates receiving the most votes for each position or post 209
shall be placed upon the ballot for a second election to be held 210
four (4) weeks later in accordance with appropriate procedures 211
followed in other elections involving runoff candidates. 212
(5) In the first meeting in January of each year, the county 213
election commissioners shall organize by electing a chair and a 214
secretary, who shall serve a one-year term. The county election 215
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 10 (ab\kr)

commissioners shall provide the names of the chair and secretary 216
to the Secretary of State and provide notice of any change in 217
officers which may occur during the year. 218
(6) It shall be the duty of the chair to have the official 219
ballot printed and distributed at each general or special 220
election. 221
(7) In addition to the duties listed above, election 222
commissioners shall also be required to: 223
(a) Obtain proper certification by successfully passing 224
the yearly skills assessment from the Secretary of State's Office, 225
in order to conduct all state and/or county elections; 226
(b) Have proficient computer skills and the ability to 227
perform basic computer functions; 228
(c) Possess proficient knowledge of Microsoft Office 229
products, such as, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft 230
PowerPoint; 231
(d) Maintain adequate knowledge and skills to properly 232
operate the SEMS systems; 233
(e) Obtain access to SEMS in order to change voter 234
status, purge voters, merge voters, run necessary reports, run 235
poll books and build elections necessary for municipal and county 236
elections; 237
(f) Be familiar with and have a working knowledge of 238
all the voting equipment used; 239
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 11 (ab\kr)

(g) Possess the ability to test the voting equipment 240
used; 241
(h) Have basic knowledge of how to build and use test 242
decks used to test the scanning voting equipment used; 243
(i) Train poll managers on all applicable state and 244
federal voting laws and to properly conduct elections according to 245
the Mississippi Elections Code, as well as how to properly use the 246
voting equipment; 247
(j) Maintain the voter roles for the County and 248
District by: 249
(i) Possessing access to all areas dealing with 250
voter roll management in SEMS in order to change voter status, 251
purge voters when necessary, change voters to other voting 252
districts in the state and run necessary reports; and 253
(ii) Keeping voting records for all districts; 254
(k) Have knowledge of how to create security devices on 255
all voting devices; 256
(l) If used, have knowledge on how to upload data onto 257
electronic poll books as well as retrieving final election data 258
after the election concludes; 259
(m) Maintain current knowledge of all statutes 260
governing the election processes, including: 261
(i) Knowing election and polling place protocols; 262
(ii) Being able to determine voter polling sites, 263
if necessary; 264
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 12 (ab\kr)

(iii) Knowing how to address breaches of statute 265
by a voter, candidate, poll manager and/or poll watchers; and 266
(iv) Counting ballots, canvasing election results 267
and certifying elections; 268
(n) Keep proper minutes of all Election Commission 269
meetings available for public inspection; 270
(o) Be familiar with proper procedure, according to the 271
Mississippi Ethics Division, when visitors attend one (1) of the 272
meetings of the Election Commission; and 273
(p) Be familiar with the procedure when an election is 274
challenged. 275
(8) In order to fulfill all the duties listed above, the 276
following materials shall be issued to all Election Commissioners: 277
(a) A proper office space for each commissioner; 278
(b) A computer, equipped with a printer; 279
(c) Adequate storage equipment to store all work 280
performed by each commissioner; 281
(d) An office copy machine; 282
(e) Desk top scanners for each commissioner; 283
(f) Adequate storage space for election materials and 284
supplies; and 285
(g) Proper storage space for voting machines, if 286
machines are to be stored in the election commissioner's office. 287
SECTION 2. Section 23-15-215, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 288
amended as follows: 289
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 13 (ab\kr)

23-15-215. If there shall not be election commissioners in 290
any county, or if they fail to act, the duties prescribed for them 291
shall be performed by the board of supervisors. In such case, the 292
president of the board is charged with the duty of having the 293
official ballot printed and distributed; and the poll managers 294
shall make returns to the board, which shall canvass the returns, 295
give certificates of election, and make report to the Secretary of 296
State, in like manner as the election commissioners are required 297
to do. The board shall also be required to maintain the 298
knowledge, skills and tasks assigned to election commissioners in 299
Section 23-15-213(7). 300
SECTION 3. Section 23-15-221, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 301
amended as follows: 302
23-15-221. (1) The governing authorities of municipalities 303
having a population of less than twenty thousand (20,000) 304
inhabitants according to the last federal decennial census shall 305
appoint three (3) election commissioners; the governing 306
authorities of municipalities having a population of twenty 307
thousand (20,000) inhabitants or more and less than one hundred 308
thousand (100,000) inhabitants according to the last federal 309
decennial census shall appoint five (5) election commissioners; 310
and the governing authorities of municipalities having a 311
population of one hundred thousand (100,000) or more according to 312
the last federal decennial census shall appoint seven (7) election 313
commissioners. The municipal election commissioners, in 314
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 14 (ab\kr)

conjunction with the municipal clerk, shall perform all the duties 315
in respect to the municipal election prescribed by law to be 316
performed by the county election commissioners where not otherwise 317
provided. The election commissioners shall, in case there be but 318
one (1) election precinct in the municipality, act as poll 319
managers themselves. 320
(2) The city council or board of aldermen or other governing 321
authority of any municipality desiring to avail itself of the 322
provisions of the Mississippi Election Code regarding the duties 323
of municipal election commissioners shall adopt an ordinance 324
declaring its intention to enter into an agreement with the 325
municipality's county to have the county election commissioners 326
conduct municipal elections and other functions that are performed 327
by municipal election commissioners for the benefit of the 328
efficiency and conformity of elections, to be effective on and 329
after a date fixed in the ordinance which must be at least thirty 330
(30) days after the ordinance is adopted and on the first day of a 331
month. If the municipality is located in more than one (1) 332
county, the municipality shall choose which county it wants to 333
conduct its elections and other duties of its municipal election 334
commissioners and enter into an agreement with that county to have 335
that county's election commissioners conduct the municipal 336
elections and other functions that are performed by municipal 337
election commissioners for the benefit of the efficiency and 338
conformity of elections, to be effective on and after a date fixed 339
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 15 (ab\kr)

in the ordinance which must be at least thirty (30) days after the 340
ordinance is adopted and on the first day of a month. A certified 341
copy of this ordinance shall be immediately forwarded to the Chair 342
of the State Board of Election Commissioners. The municipal 343
authorities shall have a copy of the ordinance published once a 344
week for three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper 345
published in the municipality and having a general circulation 346
therein. The first publication shall be not less than 347
twenty-eight (28) days before the effective date fixed in the 348
ordinance, and the last publication shall be made not less than 349
seven (7) days before such date. If no newspaper is published in 350
the municipality, then notice shall be given by publishing the 351
ordinance for the required time in some newspaper published in the 352
same or an adjoining county having a general circulation in the 353
municipality. A copy of the ordinance shall also be posted at 354
three (3) public places in the municipality for a period of at 355
least twenty-one (21) days during the time of its publication in a 356
newspaper. The publication of the ordinance may be made as 357
provided in Section 21-17-19. Proof of publication must also be 358
furnished to the Chair of the State Board of Election 359
Commissioners. 360
(3) If a city council or board of aldermen or other 361
governing authority of any municipality adopts an ordinance to 362
abolish municipal election commissioners in the municipality's 363
county and authorize county election commissioners to conduct the 364
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 16 (ab\kr)

municipal election commissioners' duties, the county election 365
commissioners shall conduct all of the duties of the municipal 366
election commissioners including, but not limited to: 367
(a) Canvass the results of bond elections in a 368
municipality; 369
(b) Canvass the returns of special and general 370
elections for mayor and councilmen and within five (5) days after 371
any special or general election, deliver to each person receiving 372
the highest number of votes a certificate of election; 373
(c) Certify to the Secretary of State the name or names 374
of the person or persons elected at special and general elections 375
within ten (10) days after any special or general election; 376
(d) Revise the primary pollbooks for municipalities at 377
the time and in the manner and in accordance with the laws now 378
fixed and in force for revising pollbooks, except they shall not 379
remove from the pollbook any person who is qualified to 380
participate in primary elections; 381
(e) Print the pollbooks that are to be used in 382
municipal elections; 383
(f) Print and distribute the "official ballots"; 384
(g) Perform the duties of poll managers in the event 385
there is only one (1) election precinct in the municipality; 386
(h) Perform any of the duties required of the municipal 387
executive committee pursuant to Section 23-15-239 if the municipal 388
executive committee has entered into a written agreement with the 389
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 17 (ab\kr)

municipal clerk or the municipal or county election commission 390
that gives such authorization; 391
(i) Determine whether each party candidate in the 392
municipal general election is a qualified elector of the 393
municipality, and of the ward if the office sought is a ward 394
office, whether each candidate either meets all other 395
qualifications to hold the office he or she is seeking or presents 396
absolute proof that he or she will, subject to no contingencies, 397
meet all qualifications on or before the date of the general or 398
special election at which he or she could be elected to office, 399
and whether any candidate has been convicted of any felony in a 400
court of this state, or has been convicted on or after December 8, 401
1992, of any offense in another state which is a felony under the 402
laws of this state, or has been convicted of any felony in a 403
federal court on or after December 8, 1992; 404
(j) Declare each candidate elected without opposition, 405
if the candidate meets all the qualifications to hold the office 406
as determined pursuant to a review by the commission in accordance 407
with the provisions of paragraph (i) of this subsection (3); 408
(k) Canvass the returns for municipal elections 409
received from all voting precincts and within ten (10) days after 410
the election, deliver to each person receiving the highest number 411
of votes a certificate of election. If it shall appear that any 412
two (2) or more of the candidates receiving the highest number of 413
votes shall have received an equal number of votes, the election 414
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 18 (ab\kr)

shall be decided by the toss of a coin or by lot, fairly and 415
publicly drawn by the election commissioners; 416
(l) Transmit the statement provided in Section 417
23-15-611 to the Secretary of State certifying the name or names 418
of the person or persons elected at municipal elections, and such 419
person or persons shall be issued commissions by the Governor; 420
(m) Receiving the filed document by any person desiring 421
to contest the qualifications of another person who has qualified 422
pursuant to the provisions of Section 23-15-361 as a candidate for 423
municipal office elected on the date designated by law for regular 424
municipal elections that specifically sets forth the grounds of 425
the challenge no later than thirty-one (31) days after the date of 426
the first primary election set forth in Section 23-15-309; and 427
(n) Perform all other duties with respect to the 428
municipal election prescribed by law. 429
(4) If the city council or board of aldermen or other 430
governing authority of any municipality does not desire to avail 431
itself of the provisions of the Mississippi Election Code 432
regarding the duties of municipal election commissioners, then 433
nothing in this section shall be construed in any way to affect, 434
alter or modify the existence of those municipal election 435
commissioners now operating under the laws relating to municipal 436
election commissioners provided in the Mississippi Code of 1972. 437
Those municipalities shall continue to enjoy the form of election 438
commissions and the conduct of the respective elections that are 439
S. B. No. 2586 *SS26/R884* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R884
PAGE 19 (ab\kr)
ST: Election commissioners; outline duties of.
now enjoyed by them, and each shall possess all rights, powers, 440
privileges and immunities granted and conferred under the laws 441
relating to municipal election commissioners provided in the 442
Mississippi Code of 1972. 443
(5) All municipal election commissioners, or municipal 444
governing authorities performing the duties of election 445
commissioners, shall also be required to maintain the knowledge, 446
skills and tasks assigned to election commissioners in Section 447
23-15-213(7). 448
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from 449
and after July 1, 2026. 450