MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2007 Regular Session

To: Apportionment and Elections

By: Representative Baker (74th)

House Bill 5

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT THE TERM "BALLOT BOX" INCLUDES ANY "BALLOT BAG" USED FOR ANY PURPOSE THAT A "BALLOT BOX" MAY BE USED IN ELECTIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

     SECTION 1.  The following shall be codified as Section 23-15-3, Mississippi Code of 1972:

     23-15-3.  For purposes of this chapter, the term "ballot box" includes any "ballot bag" used to carry ballots to and from a polling place, is distributed by an election commissioner to a voting precinct, is delivered to the circuit clerk for preservation after an election, that encloses blank ballot receipts, in which ballot cards and absentee ballot envelopes are deposited, inspected before an election, and any "ballot bag" used for any other purpose for which a "ballot box" may be used under the provisions of law regulating elections in Mississippi.

     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.