Senate Bill 2876

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT THE TEN COUNTIES THAT ARE DETERMINED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO HAVE HAD THE MOST RESIDUAL VOTES AT THE 2000 ELECTION SHALL OBTAIN NEW VOTING MACHINES, ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS OR OPTICAL MARK READING EQUIPMENT TO REPLACE THE EQUIPMENT USED AT SUCH ELECTION; TO REQUIRE ANY NEW EQUIPMENT OBTAINED BY SUCH COUNTIES TO BE APPROVED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE AND BE AVAILABLE FOR USE DURING THE 2000 ELECTIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) The ten (10) counties that are determined by the Secretary of State to have had the most residual votes at the 2000 election shall obtain new voting machines, electronic voting systems or optical mark reading equipment to replace the equipment used at such election. The new equipment obtained by such counties must be approved by the Secretary of State and be available for use during the 2000 elections.

(2) As used in this section "residual votes" means overvotes, undervotes and any other vote not counted for any reason.

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.