MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2022 Regular Session
To: Apportionment and Elections
By: Representatives Powell, Shanks, Wallace, Horne, Boyd
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE MONIES THAT ARE DEPOSITED INTO THE ELECTIONS SUPPORT FUND; TO REVISE HOW THE MONIES IN THE ELECTIONS SUPPORT FUND ARE DISTRIBUTED AND FOR WHAT PURPOSES THEY ARE SPENT; TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-153, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATEWIDE ELECTIONS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SHALL BE COMPARED TO CERTAIN IDENTIFICATION DATABASES TO ENSURE NON-UNITED STATES CITIZENS ARE NOT REGISTERED TO VOTE; TO PROVIDE THE NOTIFICATION REQUIRED WHEN A NON-UNITED STATES CITIZEN IS FOUND TO BE REGISTERED TO VOTE; TO PROVIDE THE DOCUMENTATION THAT MUST BE SUBMITTED AS PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP; TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-165, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; TO CREATE NEW SECTION 23-15-152, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT AN ELECTOR WHO FAILS TO RESPOND TO A CONFIRMATION NOTICE AND WHO FAILS TO VOTE DURING A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME SHALL BE PURGED FROM THE STATEWIDE ELECTIONS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM; TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS FOR "CONFIRMATION NOTICE" AND "FAILS TO RESPOND TO THE CONFIRMATION NOTICE"; TO PROVIDE THOSE REGISTERED VOTERS WHO SHALL RECEIVE CONFIRMATION NOTICES; TO PROVIDE THAT A REGISTERED VOTER WHO IS MAILED A CONFIRMATION NOTICE SHALL BE PLACED ON INACTIVE STATUS IN THE STATEWIDE ELECTIONS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM BUT SHALL BE ABLE TO VOTE BY AFFIDAVIT BALLOT; TO PROVIDE THE TIME FOR REMOVAL OF VOTER REGISTRATION RECORDS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE RETENTION OF REMOVED VOTER REGISTRATION RECORDS; TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-125, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 23-15-153, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-153. (1) At least during the following times, the election commissioners shall meet at the office of the registrar or the office of the election commissioners to carefully revise the county voter roll as electronically maintained by the Statewide Elections Management System and remove from the roll the names of all voters who have requested to be purged from the voter roll, died, received an adjudication of non compos mentis, been convicted of a disenfranchising crime, failed to comply with the provisions of Section 23-15-152, or otherwise become disqualified as electors for any cause, and shall register the names of all persons who have duly applied to be registered but have been illegally denied registration:
(a) On the Tuesday after the second Monday in January 1987 and every following year;
(b) On the first Tuesday in the month immediately preceding the first primary election for members of Congress in the years when members of Congress are elected;
(c) On the first
Monday in the month immediately preceding the first primary election for state,
state district legislative, county and county district offices in the years in
which those offices are elected; * * *
(d) On the second
Monday of September preceding the general election or regular special election
day in years in which a general election is not conducted * * *;
(e) As provided in Section 23-15-152.
Except for the names of those voters who are duly qualified to vote in the election, no name shall be permitted to remain in the Statewide Elections Management System; however, no name shall be purged from the Statewide Elections Management System based on a change in the residence of an elector except in accordance with procedures provided for by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. Except as otherwise provided by Section 23-15-573, no person shall vote at any election whose name is not in the county voter roll electronically maintained by the Statewide Elections Management System.
(2) Except as provided in this section, and subject to the following annual limitations, the election commissioners shall be entitled to receive a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), to be paid from the county general fund, for every day or period of no less than five (5) hours accumulated over two (2) or more days actually employed in the performance of their duties in the conduct of an election or actually employed in the performance of their duties for the necessary time spent in the revision of the county voter roll as electronically maintained by the Statewide Elections Management System as required in subsection (1) of this section:
(a) In counties having less than fifteen thousand (15,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than fifty (50) days per year, with no more than fifteen (15) additional days allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year;
(b) In counties having fifteen thousand (15,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census but less than thirty thousand (30,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than seventy-five (75) days per year, with no more than twenty-five (25) additional days allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year;
(c) In counties having thirty thousand (30,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census but less than seventy thousand (70,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than one hundred (100) days per year, with no more than thirty-five (35) additional days allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (l) occurring in any calendar year;
(d) In counties having seventy thousand (70,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census but less than ninety thousand (90,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than one hundred twenty-five (125) days per year, with no more than forty-five (45) additional days allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year;
(e) In counties having ninety thousand (90,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census but less than one hundred seventy thousand (170,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than one hundred fifty (150) days per year, with no more than fifty-five (55) additional days allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year;
(f) In counties having one hundred seventy thousand (170,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census but less than two hundred thousand (200,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than one hundred seventy-five (175) days per year, with no more than sixty-five (65) additional days allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year;
(g) In counties having two hundred thousand (200,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census but less than two hundred twenty-five thousand (225,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than one hundred ninety (190) days per year, with no more than seventy-five (75) additional days allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (l) occurring in any calendar year;
(h) In counties having two hundred twenty-five thousand (225,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census but less than two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than two hundred fifteen (215) days per year, with no more than eighty-five (85) additional days allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year;
(i) In counties having two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census but less than two hundred seventy-five thousand (275,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than two hundred thirty (230) days per year, with no more than ninety-five (95) additional days allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (1) occurring in any calendar year;
(j) In counties having two hundred seventy-five thousand (275,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial census or more, not more than two hundred forty (240) days per year, with no more than one hundred five (105) additional days allowed for the conduct of each election in excess of one (l) occurring in any calendar year.
(3) In addition to the number of days authorized in subsection (2) of this section, the board of supervisors of a county may authorize, in its discretion, the election commissioners to receive a per diem in the amount provided for in subsection (2) of this section, to be paid from the county general fund, for every day or period of no less than five (5) hours accumulated over two (2) or more days actually employed in the performance of their duties in the conduct of an election or actually employed in the performance of their duties for the necessary time spent in the revision of the county voter roll as electronically maintained by the Statewide Elections Management System as required in subsection (1) of this section, not to exceed five (5) days.
(4) (a) The election commissioners shall be entitled to receive a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), to be paid from the county general fund, not to exceed ten (10) days for every day or period of no less than five (5) hours accumulated over two (2) or more days actually employed in the performance of their duties for the necessary time spent in the revision of the county voter roll as electronically maintained by the Statewide Elections Management System before any special election. For purposes of this paragraph, the regular special election day shall not be considered a special election. The annual limitations set forth in subsection (2) of this section shall not apply to this paragraph.
(b) The election commissioners shall be entitled to receive a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00), to be paid from the county general fund, for the performance of their duties on the day of any primary, runoff, general or special election. The annual limitations set forth in subsection (2) of this section shall apply to this paragraph.
* * *
(5) The election commissioners shall be entitled to receive a per diem in the amount of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), to be paid from the county general fund, not to exceed fourteen (14) days for every day or period of no less than five (5) hours accumulated over two (2) or more days actually employed in the performance of their duties for the necessary time spent in the revision of the county voter roll as electronically maintained by the Statewide Elections Management System and in the conduct of a runoff election following either a general or special election.
(6) The election commissioners shall be entitled to receive only one (1) per diem payment for those days when the election commissioners discharge more than one (1) duty or responsibility on the same day.
(7) In preparation for a municipal primary, runoff, general or special election, the county registrar shall generate and distribute the master voter roll and pollbooks from the Statewide Elections Management System for the municipality located within the county. The municipality shall pay the county registrar for the actual cost of preparing and printing the municipal master voter roll pollbooks. A municipality may secure "read only" access to the Statewide Elections Management System and print its own pollbooks using this information.
(8) County election commissioners who perform the duties of an executive committee with regard to the conduct of a primary election under a written agreement authorized by law to be entered into with an executive committee shall receive per diem as provided for in subsection (2) of this section. The days that county election commissioners are employed in the conduct of a primary election shall be treated the same as days county election commissioners are employed in the conduct of other elections.
(9) In addition to any per diem authorized by this section, any election commissioner shall be entitled to the mileage reimbursement rate allowable to federal employees for the use of a privately owned vehicle while on official travel on election day.
(10) Every election commissioner shall sign personally a certification setting forth the number of hours actually worked in the performance of the commissioner's official duties and for which the commissioner seeks compensation. The certification must be on a form as prescribed in this subsection. The commissioner's signature is, as a matter of law, made under the commissioner's oath of office and under penalties of perjury.
The certification form shall be as follows:
COUNTY ELECTION COMMISSIONER
PER DIEM CLAIM FORM
NAME: ____________________________ COUNTY: _______________
ADDRESS: _________________________ DISTRICT: _____________
CITY: ______________ ZIP: ________
PURPOSE APPLICABLE ACTUAL PER DIEM
DATE BEGINNING ENDING OF MS CODE HOURS DAYS
WORKED TIME TIME WORK SECTION WORKED EARNED
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
TOTAL NUMBER OF PER DIEM DAYS EARNED
EXCLUDING ELECTION DAYS ________
PER DIEM RATE PER DAY EARNED X $100.00
TOTAL NUMBER PER DIEM DAYS EARNED
FOR ELECTION DAYS ________
PER DIEM RATE PER DAY EARNED X $150.00
TOTAL AMOUNT OF PER DIEM CLAIMED $_______
I understand that I am signing this document under my oath as an election commissioner and under penalties of perjury.
I understand that I am requesting payment from taxpayer funds and that I have an obligation to be specific and truthful as to the amount of hours worked and the compensation I am requesting.
Signed this the _____ day of ______________, ____.
________________________
Commissioner's Signature
When properly completed and signed, the certification must be filed with the clerk of the county board of supervisors before any payment may be made. The certification will be a public record available for inspection and reproduction immediately upon the oral or written request of any person.
Any person may contest the accuracy of the certification in any respect by notifying the chair of the commission, any member of the board of supervisors or the clerk of the board of supervisors of the contest at any time before or after payment is made. If the contest is made before payment is made, no payment shall be made as to the contested certificate until the contest is finally disposed of. The person filing the contest shall be entitled to a full hearing, and the clerk of the board of supervisors shall issue subpoenas upon request of the contestor compelling the attendance of witnesses and production of documents and things. The contestor shall have the right to appeal de novo to the circuit court of the involved county, which appeal must be perfected within thirty (30) days from a final decision of the commission, the clerk of the board of supervisors or the board of supervisors, as the case may be.
Any contestor who successfully contests any certification will be awarded all expenses incident to his or her contest, together with reasonable attorney's fees, which will be awarded upon petition to the chancery court of the involved county upon final disposition of the contest before the election commission, board of supervisors, clerk of the board of supervisors, or, in case of an appeal, final disposition by the court. The commissioner against whom the contest is decided shall be liable for the payment of the expenses and attorney's fees, and the county shall be jointly and severally liable for same.
(11) Any election commissioner who has not received a certificate issued by the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 23-15-211 indicating that the election commissioner has received the required elections seminar instruction and that the election commissioner is fully qualified to conduct an election, shall not receive any compensation authorized by this section or Section 23-15-239.
SECTION 2. Section 23-15-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-5. (1) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the Elections Support Fund. Monies derived from annual report fees imposed upon limited liability companies under Section 79-29-1203 shall be deposited into the Elections Support Fund. Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the fund shall be disbursed as provided in subsection (2) of this section. The expenditure of monies in the fund shall be under the direction of the Secretary of State as provided by subsection (2) of this section, and such funds shall be paid by the State Treasurer upon warrants issued by the Department of Finance and Administration.
(2) (a) Monies in the fund shall be used as follows:
(i) * * * Seventy percent (70%)
of the monies in the special fund shall be distributed annually to the counties,
upon appropriation of the Legislature, based on the proportion that the
population of a county bears to the total population in all counties of the
state population according to the most recent information from the United
States Census Bureau, and held in a separate fund solely for the purpose of
acquiring, upgrading, maintaining or repairing voting equipment, systems and
supplies, hiring temporary technical support, conducting elections using such
voting equipment or systems, employing such personnel to conduct an election,
and training election officials; and
(ii) The remaining * * * thirty percent (30%)
of the monies in the special fund shall be * * * distributed
annually to the Secretary of State for the purposes of maintaining, upgrading
or equipping the Statewide Elections Management System, improving election
security throughout the state and providing voter education.
(b) The Secretary of State shall create standard training guidelines to assist counties in training election officials with the funds authorized under subsection (2)(a)(ii) of this section. Any criteria established by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section shall be used in addition to any other training or coursework prescribed by the Secretary of State to train circuit clerks, poll managers and any other election officials participating in county elections.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no monies from the Elections Support Fund shall be used by the Secretary of State or any person associated with the Office of the Secretary of State to provide or otherwise support expert testimony in any manner for any hearing, trial or election contest.
(3) From and after July 1, 2017, none of the monies deposited in the Elections Support Fund may be used to reimburse or otherwise defray any costs that the Office of the Secretary of State may incur in administering the fund.
(4) From and after July 1, 2016, no state agency shall charge another state agency a fee, assessment, rent or other charge for services or resources received by authority of this section.
SECTION 3. Section 23-15-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-15. * * *
(1) The Statewide Elections Management System shall be compared with the
Department of Public Safety driver's license database to ensure non-United
States citizens are not registered to vote in this state. The Statewide
Elections Management System shall notify the registrar, or his or her designee,
of the county in which the person attempted to register to vote that the
attempted voter may not be a citizen of the United States. If a person who has
submitted a voter registration is flagged in the database as a potential noncitizen,
the county registrar shall enter the person's information into the United
States Citizenship and Immigration Service's Systematic Alien Verification for
Entitlements (SAVE) or its successor database for further inquiry.
(2) If, after following the procedures provided in subsection (1) of this section, both the Department of Public Safety driver's license database and SAVE indicate that the person is a noncitizen, the registrar, or his or her designee, shall send a notice to the attempted voter that he or she has been flagged as a noncitizen. Any attempted voter who receives the notice shall, within thirty (30) days of the receipt of such notice, provide proof of citizenship to the registrar or his or her designee. For purposes of this subsection (2), proof of citizenship includes, but is not limited to:
(a) The attempted voter's birth certificate or a legible photocopy of the birth certificate;
(b) A United States passport, or a legible photocopy of the pertinent pages of the passport, identifying the voter and showing the passport number;
(c) The attempted voter's United States naturalization documentation, a legible photocopy of the naturalization documentation or the number of the voter's certificate of naturalization; however, the number of the certificate of naturalization shall not be considered proof of citizenship until the Secretary of State verifies the number with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security or its successor; or
(d) Any document or method of proof of citizenship established by the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Public Law No. 99-603, compiled in 8 USCS Section 1101 et seq.
(3) If the attempted voter does not provide proof of citizenship within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the notification, the registrar, or his or her designee, where the person registered to vote shall purge the voter from the Statewide Elections Management System.
(4) In the event a person is unable to provide any of the documentation listed in subsection (2) to show proof of citizenship, the person may appeal to the election commissioners of the county in which he or she attempted to register and submit additional proof of citizenship in person or in writing. The election commissioners shall conduct a hearing and make a finding concerning the individual's citizenship status and shall forward a copy of their decision to the registrar, or his or her designee, of the county where the person resides as established in Section 23-15-61. The registrar, or his or her designee, shall update the Statewide Elections Management System to accurately reflect the decision of the election commissioners with respect to such voter.
(5) All documentation provided to show proof of citizenship as well as the Department of Public Safety database or relevant federal and state agency and county records shall be confidential and shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.
(6) On or before July 1, 2023, the Secretary of State shall compare the entire Statewide Elections Management System to the Department of Public Safety driver's license database and follow the procedures set forth in subsection (1) and (2) of this section as applicable.
(7) The Secretary of State shall promulgate rules and regulations as necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.
SECTION 4. Section 23-15-165, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-165. (1) The Office of the Secretary of State, in cooperation with the county registrars and election commissioners, shall procure, implement and maintain an electronic information processing system and programs capable of maintaining a centralized database of all registered voters in the state. The system shall encompass software and hardware, at both the state and county level, software development training, conversion and support and maintenance for the system. This system shall be known as the "Statewide Elections Management System" and shall constitute the official record of registered voters in every county of the state.
(2) The Office of the Secretary of State shall develop and implement the Statewide Elections Management System so that the registrar and election commissioners of each county shall:
(a) Verify that an applicant that is registering to vote in that county is not registered to vote in another county;
(b) Be notified automatically that a registered voter in its county has registered to vote in another county;
(c) Receive regular
reports of death, changes of address and convictions for disenfranchising
crimes that apply to voters registered in the county; * * *
(d) Retain all present
functionality related to, but not limited to, the use of voter roll data and to
implement such other functionality as the law requires to enhance the
maintenance of accurate county voter records and related jury selection and
redistricting programs * * *;
and
(e) When evidence exists that a particular registered voter may not be a citizen of the United States as provided in Section 23-15-15, send notification to the registrar of the location where the person is registered to vote.
(3) As a part of the procurement and implementation of the system, the Office of the Secretary of State shall, with the assistance of the advisory committee, procure services necessary to convert current voter registration records in the counties into a standard, industry accepted file format that can be used on the Statewide Elections Management System. Thereafter, all official voter information shall be maintained on the Statewide Elections Management System. The standard industry accepted format of data was reviewed and approved by a majority of the advisory committee created in subsection (5) of this section after consultation with the Circuit Clerks Association and the format may not be changed without consulting the Circuit Clerks Association.
(4) The Secretary of State may, with the assistance of the advisory committee, adopt rules and regulations necessary to administer the Statewide Elections Management System. The rules and regulations shall at least:
(a) Provide for the establishment and maintenance of a centralized database for all voter registration information in the state;
(b) Provide procedures for integrating data into the centralized database;
(c) Provide security to ensure that only the registrar, or his or her designee or other appropriate official, as the law may require, can add information to, delete information from and modify information in the system;
(d) Provide the registrar or his or her designee or other appropriate official, as the law may require, access to the system at all times, including the ability to download copies of the industry standard file, for all purposes related to their official duties, including, but not limited to, exclusive access for the purpose of printing all local pollbooks;
(e) Provide security and protection of all information in the system and monitor the system to ensure that unauthorized access is not allowed;
(f) Provide a procedure that will allow the registrar, or his or her designee or other appropriate official, as the law may require, to identify the precinct to which a voter should be assigned; and
(g) Provide a procedure for phasing in or converting existing manual and computerized voter registration systems in counties to the Statewide Elections Management System.
(5) The Secretary of State established an advisory committee to assist in developing system specifications, procurement, implementation and maintenance of the Statewide Elections Management System. The committee included two (2) representatives from the Circuit Clerks Association, appointed by the association; two (2) representatives from the Election Commissioners Association of Mississippi, appointed by the association; one (1) member of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, or its staff, appointed by the association; the Director of the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University, or his or her designee; the Executive Director of the Department of Information Technology Services, or his or her designee; two (2) persons knowledgeable about elections and information technology appointed by the Secretary of State; and the Secretary of State, who shall serve as the chair of the advisory committee.
(6) (a) Social security numbers, telephone numbers and date of birth and age information in statewide, district, county and municipal voter registration files shall be exempt from and shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.
(b) Copies of statewide, district, county or municipal voter registration files, excluding social security numbers, telephone numbers and date of birth and age information, shall be provided to any person in accordance with the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 at a cost not to exceed the actual cost of production.
SECTION 5. The following shall be codified as Section 23-15-152, Mississippi Code of 1972:
23-15-152. (1) For the purposes of this section, "confirmation notice" means a notice sent by the election commissioners, by forwardable mail, with return postage prepaid, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State, to a registered voter to confirm the registered voter's current address. The notice shall comply with all applicable requirements of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
(2) The election commissioners shall send a confirmation notice to the following:
(a) A registered voter if it appears from the United States Postal Service change-of-address information that the registered voter has moved to a different residence;
(b) A registered voter if a county election commissioner or county registrar has received notice from another state, or political subdivision of another state, that the registered voter has registered to vote in another state; and
(c) A registered voter if the registrar or election commissioners have received reliable information that he or she has moved within or outside of the state.
(3) The county election commissioners shall place any registered voter who has been sent a confirmation notice on inactive status in the Statewide Elections Management System. Any registered voter who is placed on inactive status shall be unable to cast a regular ballot on election day but shall be able to cast an affidavit ballot as provided in Section 23-15-573.
(4) A registered voter "fails to respond to the confirmation notice" if the voter, during a period of four (4) consecutive years beginning from the date of the delivery of the confirmation notice, fails to:
(a) Respond to the confirmation notice; or
(b) Update the elector's registration information.
The period of four (4) consecutive years beginning from the date of the delivery of the confirmation notice required in subsection (4) of this section shall include two (2) general federal elections. A registered voter who votes at least once in any election in the registered voter's county of registration during the period of four (4) consecutive years beginning from the date of the delivery of the confirmation notice shall not be purged from the Statewide Elections Management System.
(5) The county registrar or county election commission shall move those registered voters who fail to respond to the confirmation notice as provided in subsection (4) and who fail to vote as provided in subsection (4) of this section to purged status in the Statewide Elections Management System.
(6) No systematic list maintenance shall occur during the ninety (90) days immediately preceding a federal primary or general election.
(7) The county registrar shall retain removed voter registration records after they are removed for a period that includes at least two (2) federal general elections and shall record the reason for the removal.
SECTION 6. Section 23-15-125, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-125. The pollbook of each voting precinct shall designate the voting precinct for which it is to be used, and shall be ruled in appropriate columns, with printed or written headings, as follows: date of registration; voter registration number; name of electors; date of birth; and a number of blank columns for the dates of elections. All qualified applicants who register with the registrar shall be entered in the Statewide Elections Management System. Only the names of those qualified applicants who register within thirty (30) days before an election shall appear on the pollbooks of the election; however, if the thirtieth day to register before an election falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, the registration applications submitted on the business day immediately following the legal holiday shall be accepted and entered in the Statewide Elections Management System for the purpose of enabling voters to vote in the next election. When county election commissioners determine that any elector is disqualified from voting, by reason of death, conviction of a disenfranchising crime, removal from the jurisdiction, failure to comply with the provisions of Section 23-15-152, or other legal cause, that fact shall be noted in the Statewide Elections Management System and the voter's name shall be removed from the Statewide Elections Management System, the state's voter roll and the county's pollbooks. Nothing in this section shall preclude the use of electronic pollbooks.
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2022, and shall stand repealed from and after June 30, 2022.