MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1997 Regular Session

To: Apportionment and Elections

By: Representative Ellington

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-367, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT ON ELECTION BALLOTS THE NAMES OF THE CANDIDATES FOR EACH SEPARATE OFFICE SHALL BE ARRANGED ALPHABETICALLY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 23-15-367, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

23-15-367. Except as otherwise provided by Sections 23-15-974 through 23-15-985, * * * the order in which the titles of the various offices shall be printed, and 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; but the arrangement of the names of the candidates for each separate office shall be in alphabetical order, according to the candidate's surname, and this arrangement shall be uniform in each county. It is the duty of the Secretary of State, with the approval of the Governor, to furnish the designated commissioner of each county a sample of the official ballot, not less than fifty-five (55) days before the election, the general form of which shall be followed as nearly as practicable; provided that in all primary elections the names of the candidates for each separate office shall be arranged alphabetically.

SECTION 2. The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall submit this act, immediately upon approval by the Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the date it is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.