'Great step for Mississippi.' New voting method passes Legislature. Read how it works
Mississippi voters are one step closer to having a system to cast their and immediately have them counted during a 22-day period prior to any election.
On Tuesday, both the House and Senate passed the latest iteration of an early voting program, sending it to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves' desk for a final rubber stamp. It passed both chambers with comfortable majorities.
The legislation this year had started as a no-excuse early voting period for 15 days but was amended to an expanded in-person absentee voting program, which requires one of a list of excuses to vote 45 days prior to an election at a circuit clerk's office, and those ballots are not counted until election day. In its final iteration, Senate Elections Chairman Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, said both the House and Senate were glad to come to a middle ground.
"I think it's a great step for Mississippi," England said. "Number one, it allows folks the security of knowing that they cast a ballot into a machine or into a box, just like they do in on election day, and that takes away the headache of having the clerk have to fill out an envelope, notarize an envelope, open an envelope, maintain all of that. So, it's a much easier process."
The new version, as agreed upon by both chambers, will allow for a 22-day-period of excused voting, with mostly the same acceptable excuses for the state's in-person absentee voting program. Those ballots will also be counted immediately as opposed to absentee ballots being counted once polls close on election day.
In order to vote excused prior to election day, people will also have to show a valid ID at the circuit clerk's office.
Early voting proposals: MS early voting negotiators talking proposals ahead of Monday deadline. Read details
The bill, if signed by Reeves, would also prohibit poll workers from counting mail-in absentee ballots that arrive after election day. England said that provision seeks to bring the state into compliance with an executive order signed by Republican President Donald J. Trump last week.
"(This bill) did not mess with the mail in absentee ballots," England said. "That's the only absentee ballots we'll have now. We were able to get rid of the five-day (receiving ballots after election day) rule."
The state recently lost an appeal to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals over its law protecting the counting of mail-in absentee ballots received five days after election day for federal elections, and it is not yet clear if the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office, the defendant in the suit, will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
England said this provision in the excused voting program applies to state and local elections.
Since the idea has been considered this session, it has faced challenges from some circuit clerks, lawmakers and even Reeves, who called early voting a "Democratic priority."
Currently, Mississippi is one of only a few states without an early voting program.
Reeves' opposition: Mississippi early voting effort likely to fall flat in 2025 session. See why
During the summer of 2024, the Senate Elections Committee heard testimony from experts saying that early voting was utilized by both Republicans and Democrats in droves, but rural populations would be able to take advantage more so than others.
One of the challenges this session to the idea of early voting was that many circuit clerk's office, which would be in charge of overseeing an early voting process, did not have available space for holding voting machines during a period of voting prior to election day.
In the bill, circuit clerks can now use buildings or rooms adjacent to their current offices, so long as that space is on government property and has the blessing of the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office and the local county board of supervisors.
In theory, that space could be a city council chamber, a courtroom or a board of supervisors office, to name a few.
Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature and state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi Legislature passes version of early voting
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