House Bill 1196

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT A PERSON FROM KNOWINGLY DECEIVING VOTERS; TO PROVIDE THAT VIOLATORS SHALL BE GUILTY OF A FELONY; TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR REPORTING A VIOLATION OF SUCH PROHIBITION; TO REQUIRE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND SECRETARY OF STATE TO PROVIDE CORRECTIVE MEASURES AND REPORT INFORMATION TO THE LEGISLATURE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) Any person who shall knowingly deceive any other person regarding the time, place, or manner of conducting any election or the qualifications for or restrictions on voter eligibility for any election shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, be fined not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or imprisoned not more than five (5) years, or both.

(2) Any person who has reasonable cause to suspect that such a deceptive practice has occurred, may notify any authorized law enforcement officer with proper jurisdiction, the Attorney General or a designee of the Attorney General. Upon such notification, the law enforcement officer, the Attorney General or a designee of the Attorney General shall be required to conduct an immediate investigation, and file a report with the registrar and the appropriate district attorney. If a law enforcement officer other than the Attorney General or his designee is notified, that law enforcement officer shall also notify the Attorney General or his designee.

(3) Upon a determination by the law enforcement officer, the Attorney General or his designee that an act of deception described in this section has occurred, the Attorney General shall immediately undertake all effective measures necessary to provide correct information to voters affected by the deception.

(4) The Attorney General and the Secretary of State shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the provisions of subsection (3) of this section to provide correct information to any voters deceived. Such regulations shall be developed in consultation with a committee that shall not exceed nine (9) members and composed of the following: (i) at least three (3) registrars, (ii) at least three (3) representatives from civil rights organizations, voting rights organizations, voter protection groups or other interested community organizations, and (iii) at least one (1) district attorney.

(5) Not later than ninety (90) days after any election, the Attorney General shall submit to the chairmen of the Mississippi House of Representatives Apportionment and Elections Committee and the Mississippi Senate Election Committee a report that includes: (i) detailed information on specific allegations of deceptive tactics, (ii) any corrective actions taken in response to such allegations, (iii) statistical compilations of how many allegations were made and of, what type, (iv) the geographic locations of, and the populations affected by, the alleged deceptive information, (v) the status of the investigations of such allegations and the effectiveness of any such corrective actions.

(5) Any person aggrieved by a violation of subsection (1), or the Attorney General, may institute a civil action or other proper proceeding for relief, including an application to any court of competent jurisdiction for a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order or other applicable order.

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.