Senate Bill 2423

(As Passed the Senate)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-193, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE OFFICERS THAT RECEIVE A MAJORITY OF VOTES CAST FOR THE OFFICE AT THE GENERAL ELECTION SHALL BE ELECTED, BUT IF NO CANDIDATE RECEIVES A MAJORITY NUMBER OF VOTES CAST AT THE ELECTION, THEN THE TWO CANDIDATES WHO RECEIVE THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF VOTES CAST SHALL HAVE THEIR NAMES PLACED ON THE BALLOT FOR THE RUNOFF ELECTION TO BE HELD THREE WEEKS LATER; TO AMEND SECTIONS 23-15-603 AND 7-3-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 23-15-193, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

23-15-193. (1) At the election in * * * ~~1995~~ 2023, and every four (4) years thereafter, there shall be elected a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor of Public Accounts, State Treasurer, Attorney General, three (3) public service commissioners, three (3) Mississippi Transportation Commissioners, Commissioner of Insurance, Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, Senators and members of the House of Representatives in the Legislature, district attorneys for the several districts, clerks of the circuit and chancery courts of the several counties, as well as sheriffs, coroners, assessors, surveyors and members of the boards of supervisors, justice court judges and constables, and all other officers to be elected by the people at the general state election. All such officers shall hold their offices for a term of four (4) years, and until their successors are elected and qualified. The state officers shall be elected in the manner prescribed in Section 140 of the Constitution.

(2) The state officers that receive a majority of votes cast for the office at the general election shall be elected. If no candidate receives a majority number of votes cast at the election, then the two (2) candidates who receive the highest number of votes cast shall have their names placed on the ballot for the runoff election to be held three (3) weeks later. The candidate who receives a majority of the votes cast in the runoff election shall be elected. However, if no candidate receives a majority vote cast at the election, and there is a tie in the election of those receiving the next highest vote, then those candidates receiving the next highest vote and the candidate receiving the highest number of votes cast shall have their names placed on the ballot for the runoff election to be held three (3) weeks later, and whoever receives the majority of votes cast in the runoff election shall be elected. If it appears that two (2) or more candidates for state office have an equal number of votes, the interested candidates shall appear before the justices of the Supreme Court of Mississippi within two (2) days after the canvass and the tie shall be determined by a toss of a coin or by lot fairly and publicly drawn, and a certificate of election shall be given accordingly.

SECTION 2. Section 23-15-603, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

23-15-603. (1) The election commissioners shall, within ten (10) days after the general election and within ten (10) days after a runoff election, if one is required, transmit to the Secretary of State, to be filed in his or her office, a statement of the whole number of votes given in their county and the whole number of votes given in each precinct in their county, for each candidate for any office at the election; but the returns of every election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Auditor of Public Accounts, State Treasurer, Commissioner of Insurance and other state officers, shall each be made out separately, sealed up together and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the Secretary of State, and endorsed the "VOTE FOR STATE OFFICERS * * *,." * * * In addition to the other information required pursuant to this subsection, the returns for state officers shall contain a statement of the whole number of votes given in each House of Representative district or portion thereof for each candidate for state office at the election.

(2) Constitutional amendments shall be voted for at the time fixed by the concurrent resolution. The election, whether held separately or with other elections, shall be conducted, in all respects, as required for elections generally. The election commissioners shall, within ten (10) days after the election, transmit to the Secretary of State a statement of the whole number of votes given in their county and the whole number of votes given in each precinct in their county for or against constitutional amendments.

(3) The statements certified by the election commissioners and transmitted to the Secretary of State, as required by this section, shall be tabulated by the Secretary of State * * *. Certified county vote totals shall represent the final results of the election.

(4) The statements required by this section shall contain a certification, signed and dated by a majority of the election commissioners, which shall read as follows:

"We, the undersigned election commissioners, do hereby certify that this statement of the whole number of votes contains the official vote for the election reflected therein."

(5) The statements required by this section shall be transmitted to the Secretary of State on such forms and by such methods as may be required by rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of State.

SECTION 3. Section 7-3-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

7-3-5. The Secretary of State shall keep a correct register of all official acts and proceedings of the Governor * * *, and take charge of and safely keep in his office the returns of all elections by the people * * *. He shall lay all official documents before either branch of the Legislature when required; he shall receive from the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate, and shall carefully keep and preserve in his office, the journals, papers and proceedings of both houses of the Legislature; and he shall carefully keep and preserve the enrolled acts and resolutions of the Legislature, maps, charts and other property of the state remaining at the seat of government, the keeping of which is not otherwise provided for. He shall act as the custodian of the apostille issued by the Department of Authentications Office of the Hague Conference on Private International Law and shall act as the authorizing official for public documents under the Hague agreement of 1961.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.