Title 23, Elections

(1) (a) Assessments made pursuant to subsection (1)(a), (b), (c) and (d) of Section 23-15-297 shall be paid by each candidate who seeks a nomination in the political party election to the secretary of the state executive committee with which the candidate is affiliated by 5:00 p.…

(1) Any candidate for any municipal, county or county district office shall be a resident of the municipality, county, county district or other territory that he or she seeks to represent in such office for two (2) years immediately preceding the day of election. The provisions o…

All the expenses of printing the tickets or primary election ballots, for necessary stationery, and for paying the managers, clerks and returning officer of every primary election authorized by this chapter held in any county shall be paid by the board of supervisors of such coun…

When two (2) or more political parties or political organizations are holding primary elections, each shall be conducted entirely independent of the other but at the same time.

The candidate who received the majority number of votes cast for the office which he seeks shall thereby become the nominee of his party for such office and no person shall be declared to be the nominee of his party unless and until he has received a majority of the votes cast fo…

The name of any candidate shall not be placed upon the official ballot in general elections as a party nominee who is not nominated as herein provided, and the election of any party nominee who shall be nominated otherwise than as provided in this chapter shall be void and he or …

(1) Nominations for all municipal officers which are elective shall be made at a primary election, or elections, to be held in the manner prescribed by law. All persons desiring to be candidates for the nomination in the primary elections shall first pay Ten Dollars ($10.00) to t…

All the expenses of printing the tickets, paying the poll managers, clerks and returning officer of a municipal primary election shall be paid by the municipality from the general funds thereof, but such officers of primary elections shall receive only such compensation as is aut…

(1) If there be any political party, or parties, in any municipality which shall not have a party executive committee for such municipality, such political party, or parties, shall within thirty (30) days of the date for which a candidate for a municipal office is required to qua…

The county executive committee chairman shall publish a copy of his call for a meeting in some newspaper published at least once per week in the municipality affected for three (3) weeks preceding the date set for the mass convention, or if there be no newspaper published in the …

If any person nominated for office in a primary election shall die, be removed after his or her nomination or withdraw or resign from his or her candidacy for a legitimate nonpolitical reason as defined in this section, and the vacancy in nomination shall occur between the primar…

All the provisions of this subarticle as far as practicable shall apply to and regulate primary elections for the nomination of elective municipal offices. Candidates for the nomination of such municipal offices shall file with the clerk of the city, village or town, the affidavi…

Nomination of candidates for the office of Commissioner of the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee District, by any political party, shall be made by counties, or parts of a county having a levee commissioner, and the primary elections for that purpose shall be held on the second Tuesd…

It shall be the duty of the state executive committee of each political party to furnish to each county executive committee, not less than fifty (50) days prior to the election, the names of all state and state district candidates and all candidates for legislative districts comp…

(1) The county executive committee shall have printed all necessary ballots, for use in primary elections. The county executive committee shall have printed all necessary absentee ballots forty-five (45) days before the election as required by law. The ballots shall contain the n…

(1) The county executive committee shall designate a person whose duty it shall be to distribute all necessary ballots for use in a primary election, and shall designate one (1) among the poll managers at each polling place to receive and receipt for the blank ballots to be used …

It shall be the duty of the chair of the election commission of each county to have printed all necessary ballots for use in elections, except ballots in municipal elections which shall be printed as herein provided by the authorities of the respective municipalities; and the ele…

The officer charged with printing and distributing the official ballot shall ascertain from the registrar, at least ten (10) days before the day of election, the number of registered voters in each voting precinct; and he or she shall have printed and distributed a sufficient num…

Ballots in all elections shall be printed and distributed at public expense and shall be known as “official ballots.” The expense of printing the ballots shall be paid out of the county treasury, except that in municipal elections such expenses shall be paid by the respective cit…

On the back and outside of the ballot shall be printed the words “OFFICIAL BALLOT,” the name of the voting precinct or place for which the ballot is prepared, and the date of the election.

(1) Except as provided in this section, the ballot shall contain the names of all party nominees certified by the appropriate executive committee, and independent and special election candidates who have timely filed petitions containing the required signatures and assessments th…

(1) The municipal general election ballot shall contain the names of all candidates who have been put in nomination by the municipal primary election of any political party. There shall be printed on the ballots the names of all persons so nominated, whether the nomination be oth…

After the proper officer has knowledge of or has been notified of the nomination, as provided, of any candidate for office, the officer shall not omit his name from the ballot, unless upon the written request of the candidate nominated, made at least ten (10) days before the elec…

(1) (a) In general and special elections, one (1) blank space shall be left on each ballot under the title of each office to be voted for, and in the event of the death, resignation, withdrawal or removal of any candidate whose name was printed on the official ballot, the name of…

(1) Except as otherwise provided by Sections 23-15-974 through 23-15-985 and subsection (2) of this section, the size, print and quality of paper of the official ballot is left to the discretion of the officer charged with printing the official ballot. (2) The titles for the vari…

(1) (a) Whenever a constitutional amendment is submitted to the vote of the people, the substance of the amendment shall be printed in clear and unambiguous language on the ballot after the list of candidates, if any, followed by the word “YES” and also by the word “NO”, and shal…

In case the official ballots prepared shall be lost or destroyed, the election commissioners shall have like ballots furnished in place of those lost or destroyed, if time remain therefor. If from any cause there should be no official ballots or an insufficient number at a voting…

Within one (1) day after election day, the poll managers shall report to the election commissioners, under oath, as to the loss of official ballots, the number lost, and all facts connected therewith, which report the commissioners may deliver to the grand jury, if deemed advisab…

Local issue elections may be held on the same date as any regular or general election. A local issue election held on the same date as the regular or general election shall be conducted in the same manner as the regular or general election using the same poll workers and the same…

The board of supervisors of each county and the governing authorities of each municipality shall use optical mark reading equipment or direct recording electronic voting equipment that complies with the specifications provided by law. The election commissioners may conduct specia…

(a) As used in this subarticle, unless otherwise specified:(a) “Optimal mark reading (OMR)” means a method of capturing data electronically into a computer system.(b) “Optical mark reading equipment (OMR)” means an apparatus that reads pen and pencil marks made in pre-defined pos…

The board of supervisors of any county and the governing authorities of any municipality are hereby authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to purchase or rent OMR equipment that meets the requirements of Section 23-15-507 and may use such system in all or a part of the pr…

(a) No OMR equipment shall be acquired or used in accordance with this chapter unless it shall:(a) Permit eligible voters to vote at any election for all persons for whom they are lawfully entitled to vote; to vote for as many persons for an office as they are lawfully entitled t…

The ballots shall, as far as practicable, be in the same order of arrangement as provided for paper ballots that are to be counted manually, except that the information may be printed in vertical or horizontal rows. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as prohibiting the in…

(1) The official ballots, sample ballots and other necessary forms and supplies of the forms and description required by this chapter or required for the conduct of elections with an electronic voting system shall be prepared and furnished by the same official, in the same manner…

The circuit clerk shall be the custodian of OMR equipment acquired by the county, who shall be charged with the proper storage, maintenance and repair of the OMR equipment. The municipal clerk shall be the custodian of the OMR equipment acquired by the municipality, and shall be …

At least one (1) hour before the opening of the polls, the officials in charge of the election shall arrive at the polling place and set up the voting booths so that they will be in clear view of the poll managers; the poll managers shall examine the ballots to verify that they h…

The poll managers shall prepare a ballot accounting report that documents the number of voters who have voted, as indicated by the receipt book and the number of ballots used in the election. The poll managers shall place the report in the ballot box, with the seal logs, receipt …

Before counting the ballots, the election commissioners, or their designees, shall have the OMR equipment tested to ascertain that it will accurately count the votes cast for all offices and on all measures. Representatives of the political parties, candidates, the press and the …

(1) All proceedings at the counting center shall be under the direction of the election commissioners or officials in charge of the election, and shall be conducted under the observations of the public, but no persons except those authorized for the purpose shall touch any ballot…

(1) The Secretary of State shall have the power to issue supplementary instructions and procedures for the safe and efficient use of OMR equipment within the State of Mississippi and to carry out the purpose of the chapter. Subject to such instructions and procedures provided by …

This subarticle shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Voting Modernization Act.”

(a) As used in this subarticle:(a) “Department” means the Mississippi Secretary of State.(b) “Grant program” means the “Mississippi Voting Modernization Grant Program” established in Section 23-15-533.2.(c) “Voting system” means any voting machine, voting device, precinct ballot …

(1) (a) There is established within the department the Mississippi Voting Modernization Grant Program which shall be administered by the department for the purpose of reimbursing counties or disbursing funds to counties for the purchase of modern voting systems.(b) The grant prog…

(1) For any election held in this state after January 1, 2024, the officials in charge of the election shall only use voting systems as defined by Section 23-15-533.1. (2) The board of supervisors of any county may authorize the circuit clerk or election commission to make applic…

(1) At all elections, the polls shall be opened promptly at 7:00 a.m. and be kept open until the last qualified voter, who was standing in line at the polling place at 7:00 p.m., has cast his or her ballot, or 7:00 p.m., whichever is later. One (1) hour before opening the polls, …