Constitutional amendments; require MS elected officials to be natural born citizens of the United States.

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To: Constitution; Elections
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Blackwell

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 501

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO SECTIONS 117, 1
133, 250, 154, 150, 41, 42 AND 171 OF THE MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION 2
OF 1890, TO REQUIRE THAT THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR MISSISSIPPI 3
ELECTED OFFICIALS, WHICH INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, THE 4
GOVERNOR, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, SECRETARY OF THE STATE, STATE 5
AUDITOR, STATE TREASURER, PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONERS, THE 6
ATTORNEY GENERAL, MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE, SUPREME COURT 7
JUSTICES, COURT OF APPEALS JUDGES, CHANCERY AND CIRCUIT COURT 8
JUDGES AND JUSTICE COURT JUDGES, INCLUDE BEING A NATURAL BORN 9
CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES. 10
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF 11
MISSISSIPPI, TWO-THIRDS OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 12
CONCURRING THEREIN, WHICH TWO-THIRDS CONSISTS OF NOT LESS THAN A 13
MAJORITY OF THE MEMBERS ELECTED TO EACH HOUSE, That the following 14
amendments to the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 are proposed to 15
the qualified electors of the state: 16
Amend Section 117, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read 17
as follows: 18
"Section 117. The governor shall be at least thirty years of 19
age, and shall * * * be a natural born citizen of the United 20
States * * *, and shall have resided in this state five years next 21
preceding the day of his election." 22
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Amend Section 133, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read 23
as follows: 24
"Section 133. There shall be a secretary of state, who shall 25
be elected as herein provided. He shall be at least twenty-five 26
years of age, a natural born citizen of the United States, a 27
citizen of the state five years next preceding the day of his 28
election, and he shall continue in office during the term of four 29
years, and shall be keeper of the capitol; he shall keep a correct 30
register of all official acts and proceedings of the governor; and 31
shall, when required, lay the same, and all papers, minutes, and 32
vouchers relative thereto, before the legislature, and he shall 33
perform such other duties as may be required of him by law. He 34
shall receive such compensation as shall be prescribed." 35
Amend Section 250, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read 36
as follows: 37
"Section 250. All qualified electors who are natural born 38
citizens of the United States, and no others, shall be eligible to 39
office, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution; 40
provided, however, that as to an office where no other 41
qualification than that of being a qualified elector is provided 42
by this Constitution, the legislature may, by law, fix additional 43
qualifications for such office." 44
Amend Section 154, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read 45
as follows: 46
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"Section 154. No person shall be eligible to the office of 47
judge of the circuit court or of the chancery court who shall not 48
have been a practicing lawyer for five years and who shall not 49
have attained the age of twenty-six years, and who shall not have 50
been a natural born citizen of the United States and five years a 51
citizen of this state." 52
Amend Section 150, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read 53
as follows: 54
"Section 150. No personal shall be eligible to the office of 55
judge of the Supreme Court who shall not have attained the age of 56
thirty years at the time of his appointment, and who shall not 57
have been a practicing attorney, who is not a natural born citizen 58
of the United States and a citizen of the state for five years 59
immediately preceding such appointment." 60
Amend Section 41, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read 61
as follows: 62
"Section 41. No person shall be a member of the House of 63
Representatives who shall not have attained the age of twenty-one 64
(21) years, who shall not be a natural born citizen of the United 65
states, and who shall not be a qualified elector of the state, and 66
who shall not have been a resident citizen of the state for four 67
(4) years, and within the district such person seeks to serve for 68
two (2) years, immediately preceding his election. The seat of a 69
member of the House of Representatives shall be vacated on his 70
removal from the district from which he was elected." 71
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Amend Section 42, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read 72
as follows: 73
"Section 42. No person shall be a senator who shall not have 74
attained the age of twenty-five years, who shall not be a natural 75
born citizen of the United States, who shall not have been a 76
qualified elector of the state four years, and who shall not be an 77
actual resident of the district or territory he may be chosen to 78
represent for two years before his election. The seat of a 79
senator shall be vacated upon his removal from the district from 80
which he was elected." 81
Amend Section 171, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read 82
as follows: 83
"Section 171. A competent number of justice court judges and 84
constables shall be chosen in each county in the manner provided 85
by law, but not less than two (2) such judges in any county, who 86
shall hold their office for the term of four (4) years. Each 87
justice court judge shall be a natural born citizen of the United 88
States, and have resided two (2) years in the county next 89
preceding his selection and shall be high school graduate or have 90
a general equivalency diploma unless he shall have served as a 91
justice of the peace or been elected to the office of justice of 92
the peace prior to January 1, 1976. All persons elected to the 93
office of justice of the peace in November, 1975, shall take 94
office in January, 1976, as justice court judges. 95
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The maximum civil jurisdiction of the justice court shall 96
extend to causes in which the principal amount in controversy is 97
Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or such higher amount as may be 98
prescribed by law. The justice court shall have jurisdiction 99
concurrent with the circuit court over all crimes whereof the 100
punishment prescribed does not extend beyond a fine and 101
imprisonment in the county jail; but the Legislature may confer on 102
the justice court exclusive jurisdiction in such petty 103
misdemeanors as the Legislature shall see proper. 104
In all causes tried in justice court, the right of appeal 105
shall be secured under such rules and regulations as shall be 106
prescribed by law, and no justice court judge shall preside at the 107
trial of any cause where he may be interested, or the parties or 108
either of them shall be connected with him by affinity or 109
consanguinity, except by the consent of the justice court judge 110
and of the parties. 111
All reference in the Mississippi Code to justice of the peace 112
shall mean justice court judge." 113
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the amendments in this 114
resolution shall be submitted by the Secretary of State to the 115
qualified electors at an election to be held on the first Tuesday 116
after the first Monday of November 2026, as provided by Section 117
273 of the Constitution and by general law. 118
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the explanation of the 119
amendments for the ballot shall read as follows: "These proposed 120
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ST: Constitutional amendments; require MS
elected officials to be natural born citizens of
the United States.
constitutional amendments require that all of the elected official 121
qualifications that are outlined in the Mississippi Constitution 122
include a requirement that the elected officials are natural born 123
citizens of the United States." 124