Senate Bill 2649

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 9-5-22, 9-7-20 AND 23-15-983, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE CHANCELLORS OF THE SIXTH CHANCERY COURT DISTRICT AND THE JUDGES OF THE FIFTH CIRCUIT COURT DISTRICT SHALL RUN BY POSTS RATHER THAN "IN THE HERD"; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 9-5-22, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

9-5-22. There shall be two (2) chancellors for the Sixth Chancery Court District. For the purposes of appointment and election the two (2) chancellorships shall be separate and distinct and denominated for purposes of appointment and election only as "Place One" and "Place Two."

SECTION 2. Section 9-7-20, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

9-7-20. There shall be two (2) judges for the Fifth Circuit Court District. For the purposes of appointment and election the two (2) judgeships shall be separate and distinct and denominated for purposes of appointment and election only as "Place One" and "Place Two."

SECTION 3. Section 23-15-983, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

23-15-983. At the general election, the candidates equal to the number of positions to be filled and having the highest votes shall be elected.

Any tie votes in the general election which must be resolved in order to determine who is elected shall be resolved in the manner prescribed by Sections 23-15-601 and 23-15-605.

The provisions of this section shall apply only to districts and subdistricts which are multijudge districts except for the Sixth, Eighth, Tenth, Sixteenth and Twentieth Chancery Court Districts and the Second, Fifth, Eighth and Nineteenth Circuit Court Districts.

SECTION 4. 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 5. 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.