MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2011 Regular Session
To: Apportionment and Elections
By: Representative Banks
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 23-15-415 AND 23-15-473, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT A CANDIDATE MAY INSPECT A VOTING MACHINE OR VOTING DEVICE AT LEAST THREE DAYS BEFORE AN ELECTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 23-15-415, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-415. It shall be the duty of the authorities in charge of any election where a voting machine is to be used, to have the machine at the proper polling place or places before the time fixed for opening of the polls, and the counters set at zero, and otherwise in good and proper order for use at such election. For the purpose of placing ballots in the ballot frames of the machine, putting it in order, setting, testing and adjusting and delivering the machine, the authorities in charge of elections may employ one or more competent persons, to be known as custodian or custodians of voting machines, who shall be fully competent, thoroughly instructed, and sworn to perform his duties honestly and faithfully, and for such purpose shall be appointed and instructed at least thirty (30) days before the election. All voting machines to be used in an election shall be properly prepared at least three (3) days prior to the election day. When a voting machine has been properly prepared for election, it shall be locked against voting and sealed; and the keys thereof shall be delivered to the registrar, together with a written report made by the custodian or official preparing the machine, stating that it is in every way properly prepared for the election. A candidate may inspect a voting machine at least three (3) days before an election. After the voting machine has been transferred to the polling place, it shall be the duty of the managers to provide ample protection against molestation or injury to the machine. All voting machines used in any election shall be provided with a screen, hood or curtain which shall be so made and adjusted as to conceal the voter and his action while voting.
SECTION 2. Section 23-15-473, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-473. The circuit court clerk shall be the custodian of voting devices acquired by a county, who shall be charged with the proper storage, maintenance and repair of voting devices, and the preparation of them for voting prior to elections. After they have been prepared for an election and at least three (3) days before an election, the voting devices shall be available for public inspection at a time and place designated by the custodian. The custodian shall make available to a candidate any voting devices requested by a candidate to be inspected at least three (3) days before an election. Thereafter they shall be locked or sealed before delivery to the managers of the election. The custodian shall immediately repair, replace or remove any voting device which fails to function properly on election day. The clerk of any municipality which acquires voting devices shall be the custodian of such voting devices and perform the same functions.
If a voting device at a polling place malfunctions and cannot be repaired or replaced quickly and there is no other device in the polling place that can be used to perform the function of the device that malfunctions, unofficial ballots made as nearly as possible in the form of the official ballot may be used until the voting device is repaired or replaced. Such ballots shall be received by the managers and placed by them in a receptacle in such case to be provided by the managers, and counted with the votes registered on the voting device; and the result shall be declared the same as though there had been no accident to the voting device; the ballots thus voted shall be preserved and returned as herein directed, with a certificate or statement setting forth how and why the same were voted.
SECTION 3. 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 4. 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.