MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2023 Regular Session
To: Elections
By: Senator(s) McDaniel
AN ACT TO ENACT THE MISSISSIPPI ELECTIONS INTEGRITY ACT OF 2023; TO PROVIDE THAT ANY PERSON SUBMITTING A VOTER REGISTRATION APPLICATION MUST PRESENT CERTAIN DOCUMENTS TO PROVE HIS OR HER STATUS AS A UNITED STATES CITIZEN; TO CODIFY NEW SECTION 23-15-15.1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATEWIDE ELECTIONS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SHALL BE COMPARED TO THE IDENTIFICATION DATABASES A SINGLE TIME TO ENSURE NON-UNITED STATES CITIZENS ARE NOT REGISTERED TO VOTE; TO PROVIDE THE NOTIFICATION REQUIRED WHEN A NON-UNITED STATES CITIZEN IS FOUND TO BE REGISTERED TO VOTE; TO PROVIDE THE DOCUMENTATION THAT MUST BE SUBMITTED AS PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP; TO REQUIRE ELECTION COMMISSIONERS TO INSPECT ALL EXISTING VOTER ROLLS AGAINST A VOTER'S SIGNATURE ON FILE ESTABLISHED BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE WITHIN A CERTAIN TIMEFRAME; TO REQUIRE THE OFFICIALS IN CHARGE OF THE ELECTION TO USE ONLY CERTAIN VOTING EQUIPMENT IN ANY ELECTION AFTER JANUARY 1, 2024; TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-625, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE REGISTRAR TO COMPARE AN APPLICANT SIGNATURE ON THE APPLICATION FOR AN ABSENTEE BALLOT AGAINST THE VOTER'S SIGNATURE ON FILE; TO REQUIRE THE REGISTRAR TO DENY THE APPLICATION AND NOT MAIL A BALLOT IF THE SIGNATURE DOES NOT MATCH; TO AMEND SECTIONS 23-15-33, 23-15-39 AND 23-15-47, 23-15-165, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; TO REPEAL SECTION 23-15-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES THE DOCUMENTATION THAT A NATURALIZED CITIZEN MUST PRESENT IN ORDER TO REGISTER TO VOTE OR TO VOTE; TO PROVIDE FOR THE REPEAL SECTIONS 23-15-531, 23-15-531.1, 23-15-531.2, 23-15-531.3, 23-15-531.4, 23-15-531.5, 23-15-531.6, 23-15-531.9, 23-15-531.10 AND 23-15-531.12, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES THE AUTHORITY FOR THE USE OF DIRECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING EQUIPMENT AT POLLING PLACES, ON A CERTAIN DATE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "The Mississippi Elections Integrity Act of 2023."
SECTION 2. Any person submitting an application to be registered as an elector in compliance with the laws of this state must provide one (1) of the following documents to prove his or her United States citizenship:
(a) A birth certificate or a legible photocopy of the birth certificate;
(b) A United States passport, or a legible photocopy of the pertinent pages of the passport, identifying the person and showing the passport number; or
(c) A United States naturalization documentation, a legible photocopy of the naturalization documentation, or the number of the voter's certificate of naturalization; except that any person who provides the number of the certificate of naturalization in lieu of the naturalization documentation shall not be deemed to have provided proof of citizenship until the registrar verifies the number with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security or its successor.
SECTION 3. The following shall be codified as Section 23-15-15.1, Mississippi Code of 1972:
23-15-15.1 (1) (a) The Secretary of State shall:
(i) Compare the entire Statewide Elections Management System with the state's identification databases to ensure non-United States citizens are not registered to vote in this state a single time within one (1) year of the effective date of this act.
(ii) Establish a signature database in cooperation with the Department of Public Safety in order to compare a voter's signatures on the day of voting or requesting an absentee ballot against the voter's signature on file.
(b) The Secretary of State is authorized to enter into a memorandum of understanding to compare the Statewide Elections Management System with relevant federal or state agencies and county records for the same purpose.
(c) If evidence exists that a particular registered voter is not a citizen of the United States, the Statewide Elections Management System shall notify the registrar, or his or her designee, where the person registered to vote that the registered voter may not be a citizen of the United States.
(2) After receiving the notice from the Statewide Elections Management System as provided in subsection (1) of this section, the registrar, or his or her designee, shall:
(a) Enter the registered voter's information into the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) or its successor database for further inquiry; and
(b) If both the state's identification databases and the database in paragraph (a) of this subsection indicate that the registered voter is a noncitizen, send a notice to the registered voter inquiring whether the individual is eligible to be registered to vote.
(3) Any registered voter who receives the notice under subsection (2)(b) of this section shall, within thirty (30) days of the receipt of such notice, provide proof of citizenship to the registrar or his or her designee.
(4) For purposes of this subsection (4), proof of citizenship includes, but is not limited to:
(a) The voter's birth certificate or a legible photocopy of the birth certificate;
(b) A United States passport, or a legible photocopy of the pertinent pages of the passport, identifying the voter and showing the passport number; or
(c) The voter's United States naturalization documentation, a legible photocopy of the naturalization documentation, or the number of the voter's Certificate of Naturalization; except that any person who provides the number of the Certificate of Naturalization in lieu of the naturalization documentation shall not be deemed to have provided proof of citizenship until the Secretary of State verifies the number with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in the department of Homeland Security or its successor.
(5) If the registered voter does not provide proof of citizenship within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the notification, the registrar of the county, or his or her designee, where the person registered to vote shall purge the voter from the Statewide Elections Management System.
(6) In the event a voter is unable to provide any documentation listed in subsection (3) of this section to show proof of citizenship, the voter may appeal to the Board of Election Commissioners of the county in which he or she attempted to register and submit additional proof of citizenship in person or in writing. The Board of Election Commissioners shall conduct a hearing and make a finding concerning the individual's citizenship status and shall forward a copy of their decision to the registrar, or his or her designee, of the county where the person resides as established in Section 23-15-61. The Statewide Elections Management System shall be changed by the registrar, or his or her designee, to accurately reflect the decision of the Board of Election Commissioners with respect to such voter.
(7) All documentation provided to show proof of citizenship as well as the Department of Public Safety database or relevant federal and state agency and county records shall be confidential and shall not be available for inspection by the public.
(8) Election commissioners shall inspect all existing voter rolls against a voter's signature on file under subsection (1)(a)(ii) within one (1) year of July 1, 2023.
(8) The Secretary of State shall adopt the necessary rules and regulations for the administration of this section.
SECTION 4. (1) "Voting system" means any voting machine, voting device, precinct ballot scanner, ballot marking device, tabulation server or vote tabulating device that:
(i) Does not utilize pre-scored punch card ballots; and
(ii) Meets the certification requirements promulgated by the Secretary of State.
(2) For any election held in this state after January 1, 2025, the officials in charge of the election shall only use voting systems as defined by subsection (1) of this section.
(3) For any election held in this state after January 1, 2025, the officials in charge of the election shall only use voting machines, voting devices, precinct ballot scanners, ballot marking devices or vote tabulating devices that:
(a) Do not have the capability of wireless remote connections; or
(b) Have the capacity for all wireless connection capabilities to be disabled.
(4) For any election held in this state after January 1, 2025, the officials in charge of the election shall only use voting machines, voting devices, precinct ballot scanners, ballot marking devices or vote tabulating devices that have a means of identification so that the scanner cannot count any ballot more than once.
(5) The Secretary of State shall adopt and publish certifications to enforce this section.
SECTION 5. Section 23-15-625, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-625. (1) The registrar shall be responsible for providing applications for absentee voting as provided in this section. At least sixty (60) days before any election in which absentee voting is provided for by law, the registrar shall provide a sufficient number of applications. In the event a special election is called and set at a date which makes it impractical or impossible to prepare applications for absent elector's ballot sixty (60) days before the election, the registrar shall provide applications as soon as practicable after the election is called. The registrar shall fill in the date of the particular election on the application for which the application will be used.
(2) (a) The registrar shall be authorized to disburse applications for absentee ballots to any qualified elector within the county where he or she serves. Any person who presents to the registrar an oral or written request for an absentee ballot application for a voter entitled to vote absentee by mail, other than the elector who seeks to vote by absentee ballot, shall, in the presence of the registrar, sign the application and print on the application his or her name and address and the name of the elector for whom the application is being requested in the place provided for on the application for that purpose. However, if for any reason such person is unable to write the information required, then the registrar shall write the information on a printed form which has been prescribed by the Secretary of State. The form shall provide a place for such person to place his or her mark after the form has been filled out by the registrar.
(b) This signature shall be compared against the signature on file in the database provided for in Section 23-15-15.1. If the signature does not match, the application shall be rejected and no ballot shall be mailed.
(3) It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit absentee ballot applications or absentee ballots for persons staying in any skilled nursing facility as defined in Section 41-7-173 unless the person soliciting the absentee ballot applications or absentee ballots is:
(a) A family member of the person staying in the skilled nursing facility; or
(b) A person designated by the person for whom the absentee ballot application or absentee ballot is sought, the registrar or the deputy registrar.
As used in this subsection, "family member" means a spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling, adult child, grandchild or legal guardian.
(4) The registrar in the county wherein a voter is qualified to vote upon receiving by mail the envelope containing the absentee ballots shall keep an accurate list of all persons preparing such ballots. The list shall be kept in a conspicuous place accessible to the public near the entrance to the registrar's office. The registrar shall also furnish to each precinct manager a list of the names of all persons in each respective precinct voting absentee by mail and in person to be posted in a conspicuous place at the polling place for public notice. The application on file with the registrar and the envelopes containing the ballots that voters mailed to the registrar shall be kept by the registrar in his or her office in a secure location. At the time such boxes are delivered to the election commissioners or managers, the registrar shall also turn over a list of all such persons who have voted and whose mailed ballots are in the registrar's office.
(5) The registrar shall also be authorized to mail one (1) application to any qualified elector of the county, who is eligible to vote by absentee ballot, for use in a particular election.
(6) The registrar shall process all applications for absentee ballots by using the Statewide Election Management System. The registrar shall account for all absentee ballots delivered to and received by mail as well as those who voted absentee in person from qualified voters by processing such ballots using the Statewide Election Management System.
SECTION 6. Section 23-15-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-33. (1) Every person entitled to be registered as an elector in compliance with the laws of this state and who (a) has signed his or her name on and properly completed the application for registration to vote; and (b) has submitted proof of his or her United States citizenship as provided in Section 2 of this act shall be registered by the county registrar in the voting precinct of the residence of such person through the Statewide Elections Management System.
(2) Every person entitled to be registered as an elector in compliance with the laws of this state and who registers to vote pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 shall be registered by the county registrar in the voting precinct of the residence of such person through the Statewide Elections Management System.
SECTION 7. Section 23-15-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-39. (1) Applications for registration as electors of this state, which are sworn to and subscribed before the registrar or deputy registrar authorized by law and which are not made by mail, shall be made upon a form established by rule duly adopted by the Secretary of State. Applications for registration shall include a portion allowing the applicant to indicate his or her United States citizenship status and shall instruct the applicant to submit proof of such citizenship by presenting a document listed in Section 2 of this act.
(2) The boards of supervisors shall make proper allowances for office supplies reasonably necessitated by the registration of county electors.
(3) If the applicant indicates on the application that he or she resides within the city limits of a city or town in the county of registration, the county registrar shall process the application for registration or changes to the registration as provided by law.
(4) If the applicant indicates on the application that he or she has previously registered to vote in another county of this state or another state, notice to the voter's previous county of registration in this state shall be provided by the Statewide Elections Management System. If the voter's previous place of registration was in another state, notice shall be provided to the voter's previous state of residence if the Statewide Elections Management System has that capability.
(5) The county registrar shall provide to the person making the application a copy of the application upon which has been written the county voting precinct and municipal voting precinct, if any, in which the person shall vote. Upon entry of the voter registration information into the Statewide Elections Management System, the system shall assign a voter registration number to the person, and the county registrar shall mail the applicant a voter registration card to the mailing address provided on the application.
(6) Any person desiring an application for registration may secure an application from the registrar of the county of which he or she is a resident and may take the application with him or her and secure assistance in completing the application from any person of the applicant's choice. It shall be the duty of all registrars to furnish applications for registration to all persons requesting them, and it shall likewise be the registrar's duty to furnish aid and assistance in the completing of the application when requested by an applicant. The application for registration shall be sworn to and subscribed before the registrar or deputy registrar at the municipal clerk's office, the county registrar's office or any other location where the applicant is allowed to register to vote. The registrar shall not charge a fee or cost to the applicant for accepting the application or administering the oath or for any other duty imposed by law regarding the registration of electors.
(7) If the person making the application is unable to read or write, for reason of disability or otherwise, he or she shall not be required to personally complete the application in writing and execute the oath. In such cases, the registrar or deputy registrar shall read the application and oath to the person and the person's answers thereto shall be recorded by the registrar or the registrar's deputy. The person shall be registered as an elector if he or she otherwise meets the requirements to be registered as an elector. The registrar shall record the responses of the person and the recorded responses shall be retained permanently by the registrar. The county registrar shall enter the voter registration information into the Statewide Elections Management System and designate the entry as an assisted filing.
(8) The receipt of a copy of the application for registration sent pursuant to Section 23-15-35(2) shall be sufficient to allow the applicant to be registered as an elector of this state, if the application is not challenged.
(9) In any case in which the corporate boundaries of a municipality change, whether by annexation or redistricting, the municipal clerk shall, within ten (10) days after approval of the change in corporate boundaries, provide to the county registrar conforming geographic data that is compatible with the Statewide Elections Management System. The data shall be developed by the municipality's use of a standardized format specified by the Statewide Elections Management System. The county registrar, county election commissioner or other county official, who has completed an annual training seminar sponsored by the Secretary of State pertaining to the implementation of new boundary lines in the Statewide Elections Management System and received certification for that training, shall update the municipal boundary information into the Statewide Elections Management System. The Statewide Elections Management System updates the municipal voter registration records and assigns electors to their municipal voting precincts. The county registrar shall forward to the municipal clerk written notification of the additions and changes, and the municipal clerk shall forward to the affected municipal electors written notification of the additions and changes.
SECTION 8. Section 23-15-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-47. (1) Any person who is qualified to register to vote in the State of Mississippi may register to vote by mail-in application in the manner prescribed in this section.
(2) The following procedure shall be used in the registration of electors by mail:
(a) Any qualified elector may register to vote by mailing or delivering a completed mail-in application to his or her county registrar at least thirty (30) days before any election; however, if the thirtieth day to register before an election falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, the registration applications submitted on the business day immediately following the Sunday or legal holiday shall be accepted and entered into the Statewide Elections Management System for the purpose of enabling voters to vote in the next election. The postmark date of a mailed application shall be the applicant's date of registration.
(b) Upon receipt of a mail-in application, the county registrar shall stamp the application with the date of receipt, and shall verify the application either by matching the applicant's Mississippi driver's license number through the Mississippi Department of Public Safety or by matching the applicant's social security number through the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Additionally, the county registrar shall verify that the applicant has submitted proof of his or her United States citizenship by attaching a document listed in Section 2 of this act to the application. Within fourteen (14) days of receipt of a mail-in registration application, the county registrar shall complete action on the application, including any attempts to notify the applicant of the status of his or her application.
(c) If the county registrar determines that the applicant is qualified and his or her application is legible and complete, the county registrar shall mail the applicant written notification that the application has been approved, specifying the county voting precinct, municipal voting precinct, if any, polling place and supervisor district in which the person shall vote. This written notification of approval containing the specified information shall be the voter's registration card. The registration card shall be provided by the county registrar to the applicant in accordance with Section 23-15-39. Upon entry of the voter registration information into the Statewide Elections Management System, the system shall assign a voter registration number to the applicant. The assigned voter registration number shall be clearly shown on the written notification of approval. In mailing the written notification, the county registrar shall note the following on the envelope: "DO NOT FORWARD." If any registration notification form is returned as undeliverable, the voter's registration shall be void.
(d) A mail-in application shall be rejected for any of the following reasons:
(i) An incomplete portion of the application makes it impossible for the registrar to determine the eligibility of the applicant to register;
(ii) A portion of the application is illegible in the opinion of the county registrar and makes it impossible to determine the eligibility of the applicant to register;
(iii) The county registrar is unable to determine, from the address and information stated on the application, the precinct in which the voter should be assigned or the supervisor district in which he or she is entitled to vote;
(iv) The applicant is not qualified to register to vote pursuant to Section 23-15-11;
(v) The county registrar determines that the applicant is already registered as a qualified elector of the county;
(vi) The county
registrar is unable to verify the application pursuant to * * * paragraph (b) of this subsection.
(e) If the mail-in application of a person is subject to rejection for any of the reasons set forth in paragraph (d)(i) through (iii) of this subsection, and it appears to the county registrar that the defect or omission is of such a minor nature and that any necessary additional information may be supplied by the applicant over the telephone or by further correspondence, the county registrar may write or call the applicant at the telephone number or address, or both, provided on the application. If the county registrar is able to contact the applicant by mail or telephone, the county registrar shall attempt to ascertain the necessary information, and if this information is sufficient for the registrar to complete the application, the applicant shall be registered. If the necessary information cannot be obtained by mail or telephone, or is not sufficient to complete the application within fourteen (14) days of receipt, the county registrar shall give the applicant written notice of the rejection and provide the reason for the rejection. The county registrar shall further inform the applicant that he or she has a right to attempt to register by appearing in person or by filing another mail-in application.
(f) If a mail-in application is subject to rejection for the reason stated in paragraph (d)(v) of this subsection and the "present home address" portion of the application is different from the residence address for the applicant found in the Statewide Elections Management System, the mail-in application shall be deemed a written request to update the voter's registration pursuant to Section 23-15-13. The county registrar or the election commissioners shall update the voter's residence address in the Statewide Elections Management System and, if necessary, advise the voter of a change in the location of his or her county or municipal polling place by mailing the voter a new voter registration card.
(3) The instructions and the application form for voter registration by mail shall be in a form established by rule duly adopted by the Secretary of State.
(4) (a) The Secretary of State shall prepare and furnish without charge the necessary forms for application for voter registration by mail to each county registrar, municipal clerk, all public schools, each private school that requests such applications, and all public libraries.
(b) The Secretary of State shall distribute without charge sufficient forms for application for voter registration by mail to the Commissioner of Public Safety, who shall distribute the forms to each driver's license examining and renewal station in the state, and shall ensure that the forms are regularly available to the public at such stations.
(c) Bulk quantities of forms for application for voter registration by mail shall be furnished by the Secretary of State to any person or organization. The Secretary of State shall charge a person or organization the actual cost he or she incurs in providing bulk quantities of forms for application for voter registration to such person or organization.
(5) The originals of completed mail-in applications shall remain on file in the office of the county registrar with copies retained in the Statewide Elections Management System.
(6) If the applicant indicates on the application that he or she resides within the city limits of a city or town in the county of registration, the county registrar shall enter the information into the Statewide Elections Management System.
(7) If the applicant indicates on the application that he or she has previously registered to vote in another county of this state or another state, notice to the voter's previous county of registration in this state shall be provided through the Statewide Elections Management System. If the voter's previous place of registration was in another state, notice shall be provided to the voter's previous state of residence.
(8) Any person who attempts to register to vote by mail shall be subject to the penalties for false registration provided for in Section 23-15-17.
SECTION 9. Section 23-15-165, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-165. (1) The Office of the Secretary of State, in cooperation with the county registrars and election commissioners, shall procure, implement and maintain an electronic information processing system and programs capable of maintaining a centralized database of all registered voters in the state. The system shall encompass software and hardware, at both the state and county level, software development training, conversion and support and maintenance for the system. This system shall be known as the "Statewide Elections Management System" and shall constitute the official record of registered voters in every county of the state.
(2) The Office of the Secretary of State shall develop and implement the Statewide Elections Management System so that the registrar and election commissioners of each county shall:
(a) Verify that an applicant that is registering to vote in that county is not registered to vote in another county;
(b) Be notified automatically that a registered voter in its county has registered to vote in another county;
(c) Receive regular
reports of death, changes of address and convictions for disenfranchising
crimes that apply to voters registered in the county; * * *
(d) Retain all present
functionality related to, but not limited to, the use of voter roll data and to
implement such other functionality as the law requires to enhance the
maintenance of accurate county voter records and related jury selection and
redistricting programs * * *;
and
(e) When evidence exists that a particular registered voter may not be a citizen of the United States, send notification to the registrar of the location where the person is registered to vote.
(3) As a part of the procurement and implementation of the system, the Office of the Secretary of State shall, with the assistance of the advisory committee, procure services necessary to convert current voter registration records in the counties into a standard, industry accepted file format that can be used on the Statewide Elections Management System. Thereafter, all official voter information shall be maintained on the Statewide Elections Management System. The standard industry accepted format of data was reviewed and approved by a majority of the advisory committee created in subsection (5) of this section after consultation with the Circuit Clerks Association and the format may not be changed without consulting the Circuit Clerks Association.
(4) The Secretary of State may, with the assistance of the advisory committee, adopt rules and regulations necessary to administer the Statewide Elections Management System. The rules and regulations shall at least:
(a) Provide for the establishment and maintenance of a centralized database for all voter registration information in the state;
(b) Provide procedures for integrating data into the centralized database;
(c) Provide security to ensure that only the registrar, or his or her designee or other appropriate official, as the law may require, can add information to, delete information from and modify information in the system;
(d) Provide the registrar or his or her designee or other appropriate official, as the law may require, access to the system at all times, including the ability to download copies of the industry standard file, for all purposes related to their official duties, including, but not limited to, exclusive access for the purpose of printing all local pollbooks;
(e) Provide security and protection of all information in the system and monitor the system to ensure that unauthorized access is not allowed;
(f) Provide a procedure that will allow the registrar, or his or her designee or other appropriate official, as the law may require, to identify the precinct to which a voter should be assigned; and
(g) Provide a procedure for phasing in or converting existing manual and computerized voter registration systems in counties to the Statewide Elections Management System.
(5) The Secretary of State established an advisory committee to assist in developing system specifications, procurement, implementation and maintenance of the Statewide Elections Management System. The committee included two (2) representatives from the Circuit Clerks Association, appointed by the association; two (2) representatives from the Election Commissioners Association of Mississippi, appointed by the association; one (1) member of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, or its staff, appointed by the association; the Director of the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University, or his or her designee; the Executive Director of the Department of Information Technology Services, or his or her designee; two (2) persons knowledgeable about elections and information technology appointed by the Secretary of State; and the Secretary of State, who shall serve as the chair of the advisory committee.
(6) (a) Social security numbers, telephone numbers and date of birth and age information in statewide, district, county and municipal voter registration files shall be exempt from and shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.
(b) Copies of statewide, district, county or municipal voter registration files, excluding social security numbers, telephone numbers and date of birth and age information, shall be provided to any person in accordance with the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 at a cost not to exceed the actual cost of production.
SECTION 10. Section 23-15-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provides that any person who has acquired citizenship by order or decree of naturalization and who is otherwise qualified to register and vote under the laws of the State of Mississippi shall present or exhibit to the registrar of the county of his or her residence, at or before the time he or she may offer to register, a certified copy of the final order or decree of naturalization, or a Certificate of Naturalization or duplicate thereof, or a certified copy of such Certificate of Naturalization or duplicate in order to be allowed to register or to vote, is repealed.
SECTION 11. Sections 23-15-531, 23-15-531.1, 23-15-531.2, 23-15-531.3, 23-15-531.4, 23-15-531.5, 23-15-531.6, 23-15-531.9, 23-15-531.10 and 23-15-531.12, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provide the authority for the use of direct recording electronic voting equipment at polling places, shall stand repealed on December 1, 2023.
SECTION 12. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.