House Bill 1176

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-581, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT NO BALLOT BOX SHALL BE OPENED AND NO BALLOTS SHALL BE COUNTED UNTIL ALL OF THE POLLING PLACES ARE CLOSED; TO PROVIDE THAT THE POLL MANAGERS SHALL NOT PUBLICLY BREAK THE SEAL AND OPEN THE BALLOT BOX TO COUNT THE BALLOTS UNTIL THE REGISTRAR HAS NOTIFIED THE POLL MANAGERS THAT ALL OF THE POLLING PLACES ARE CLOSED; TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-591, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE POLL MANAGERS SHALL NOT ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTION AT THEIR BOX UNTIL THEY HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED BY THE REGISTRAR THAT ALL OF THE POLLING PLACES HAVE COMPLETELY AND CORRECTLY COUNTED AND TALLIED THEIR VOTES; TO PROVIDE THAT ONCE THE REGISTRAR NOTIFIES ALL OF THE POLL MANAGERS, THEN THE POLL MANAGERS SHALL ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS OF THEIR VOTES SIMULTANEOUSLY; TO AMEND SECTIONS 23-15-517, 23-15-595, 23-15-519, 23-15-247 AND 23-15-639, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 23-15-581, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

23-15-581. When the last qualified voter, who was standing in line at the polling place at 7:00 p.m., has cast his or her ballot, or 7:00 p.m., whichever is later, the poll managers shall proclaim that the polls are closed * * *~~and~~. When the poll managers have received notification from the registrar that all of the polling places have closed, then the poll managers shall publicly break the seal and open the ballot box to immediately proceed to count the ballots, at the same time reading aloud the names of the persons voted for, which shall be taken down. No ballot box shall be opened and no ballots shall be counted while any polling places are still open. During the holding of the election and the counting of the ballots, the whole proceedings shall be in fair and full view of the voting public, candidates or their duly authorized representatives and other authorized poll watchers, without unnecessary interference, delay or encroachment upon the good order of the duties and proceedings of the poll managers and other officers of the election. There shall be no unnecessary delay and no adjournment except as provided by law.

SECTION 2. Section 23-15-591, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

23-15-591. When the votes have been completely and correctly counted and tallied by the poll managers, and all of the polling places have closed, they shall publicly proclaim the result of the election at their box and shall certify in duplicate a statement of the result, the certificate to be signed by the poll managers, one (1) of the certificates to be enclosed in the ballot box, and the other to be delivered to and to be kept by one (1) of the poll managers and to be inspected at any time by any voter who so requests. No ballot box shall be opened and no ballots shall be counted while any polling places are still opened. The poll managers shall not announce the results of the election at their box until they have been notified by the registrar that all of the polling places have completely and correctly counted and tallied their votes. Once the registrar notifies all of the poll managers, then the poll managers shall announce the results of their votes simultaneously. When the count of the votes and the tally of the votes have been completed, the poll managers shall lock and seal the ballot box, having first placed therein all ballots voted, all spoiled ballots and all unused ballots. There shall also be enclosed one (1) of the duplicate receipts given by the poll manager who received the blank ballots received for that box; and the total ballots voted, and the spoiled ballots, and the unused ballots must correspond in total with the duplicate receipt or else the failure thereof must be perfectly accounted for by a written statement, under oath of the poll managers, which statement must be enclosed in the ballot box. There shall also be enclosed in the box the tally list, the receipt book containing the signed names of the voters who voted; and the number of ballots voted must correspond with the number of names signed in the receipt book.

SECTION 3. Section 23-15-517, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

23-15-517. At least one (1) hour before the opening of the polls, the officials in charge of the election shall arrive at the polling place and set up the voting booths so that they will be in clear view of the poll managers; the poll managers shall examine the ballots to verify that they have the correct ballots for their precinct and check the supplies, records and forms, and post the sample ballots and instructions to the voters. They shall also inspect the ballot boxes to ensure they contain only voted absentee ballots in their envelopes with the required applications, and then seal the box for voting.

Each voter shall receive written and/or verbal instructions by the poll managers instructing the voter how to properly vote the paper ballot before the voter enters the voting booth. If any voter needs additional instructions after entering the voting booth, two (2) poll managers may, if necessary, enter the booth and give him or her such additional instructions. If any voter spoils a ballot the voter may obtain others, one (1) at a time, not exceeding three (3) in all, upon returning each spoiled ballot. The word "SPOILED" shall be written across the face of the ballot and it shall be deposited into the sealed ballot box. When the polls close once the last ballot has been cast or at 7:00 p.m., whichever is later, the poll managers shall proclaim that the polls are closed. When the poll managers have received notification from the registrar that all of the polling places have closed, then the poll managers shall break the seal on the ballot box to process the absentee ballots. Ballots marked as spoiled shall be bundled together and placed in an envelope designated for spoiled ballots. Once the polls have officially closed, the envelope that contains the spoiled ballots and the unused ballots shall be placed in the ballot box or other container provided for that purpose which shall be sealed and returned to the officials in charge of the election.

SECTION 4. Section 23-15-595, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

23-15-595. The box containing the ballots and other records required by this chapter shall, immediately after the ballots have been counted in all polling places, be delivered by one (1) of the poll managers to the clerk of the circuit court of the county and the clerk shall, in the presence of the poll manager making delivery of the box, place upon the lock of such box a tamper-evident seal. The seals shall be numbered consecutively to the number of ballot boxes used in the election in the county, and the clerk shall keep in a place separate from such boxes a record of the number of the seal of each separate box in the county. The board of supervisors of the county shall pay the cost of providing the seals. Upon demand of the chair of the county executive committee in the case of primary elections, or the county election commissioner in the case of other elections, the boxes and their contents shall be delivered to the county executive committee, or the county election commission, as appropriate, and after such committee or commission, as appropriate, has finished the work of tabulating returns and counting ballots as required by law, the committee or commission, as appropriate, shall return all papers and ballots to the box of the precinct where the election was held, and it shall make redelivery of the boxes and their contents to the circuit clerk who shall reseal the boxes. Upon every occasion the boxes shall be reopened and each resealing shall be done as provided in this chapter. No ballot box shall be opened and no ballots shall be counted while any polling places are still opened.

SECTION 5. Section 23-15-519, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

23-15-519. The poll managers shall prepare a ballot accounting report that documents the number of voters who have voted, as indicated by the receipt book and the number of ballots used in the election. The poll managers shall place the report in the ballot box, with the seal logs, receipt books, absentee ballots, affidavit ballots, challenged ballots, curbside ballots, emergency ballots, spoiled ballots and unused ballots, which thereupon shall be sealed with a tamper-evident seal, which is a seal that has been designed in such a way to allow someone to easily detect any tampering, so that no additional ballots may be deposited or removed from the ballot box. The poll managers, while they have possession of the election materials, and the officials in charge of the election, once the poll managers have delivered the ballot box to the counting center or other designated place, shall be required to keep a seal log to document each time a tamper-evident seal for a ballot box is opened or changed. The seal log shall require the name of the person who opened the seal, the old seal number, the new seal number, the date the seal was opened and the purpose for opening the seal. The receiving and returning poll manager shall deliver the ballot box to the counting center or other designated place once all of the polling places are closed and receive a signed, numbered receipt therefor. The poll books and other records and supplies shall be returned as directed by the officials in charge of the election. Failure to strictly comply with the provisions of this section shall not result in a presumption of fraud.

SECTION 6. Section 23-15-247, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

23-15-247. The election commissioners in each county shall procure, if not already provided, a sufficient number of ballot boxes, which shall be distributed by them to the voting precincts of the county before the time for opening the polls. The boxes shall be securely sealed from the opening of the polls on election day until the polls close on election day; and the box shall be kept by one (1) of the managers, and the manager having the box shall carefully keep it, and neither open it himself or herself nor permit it to be opened, nor permit any person to have any access to it throughout the voting period during an election. The box shall not be removed from the polling building or place after the polls are opened until the polls close and the count is complete. No ballot box shall be opened and no ballots shall be counted while any polling places are still opened. After each election the ballot boxes shall be delivered to the clerk of the circuit court of the county for preservation; and he or she shall keep them for future use, and, when called for, deliver them to the election commissioners.

SECTION 7. Section 23-15-639, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

23-15-639. (1) The examination and counting of all absentee ballots shall be conducted as follows:

(a) At the * * * closing of the polls once all of the polling places have closed, the resolution board established under Section 23-15-523 and trained in the process of canvassing absentee ballots shall first take the envelopes containing the absentee ballots of such electors from the secure location at the circuit clerk's office, and the name, address and precinct inscribed on each envelope shall be announced by the election managers.

(b) The signature on the application shall then be compared with the signature on the back of the envelope. If it corresponds and the affidavit, if one is required, is sufficient and the resolution board find that the applicant is a registered and qualified voter or otherwise qualified to vote, the envelope shall then be opened and the ballot removed from the envelope, without its being unfolded, or permitted to be unfolded or examined.

(c) Having observed and found the ballot to be regular as far as can be observed from its official endorsement, the resolution board shall deposit it in the ballot box with the other ballots before counting any ballots and enter the voter's name in the receipt book provided for that purpose. All absentee ballots received prior to 7:00 p.m. the day before the election shall be counted in the registrar's office by the resolution board when the polls close and then added to the votes cast in each precinct. All absentee ballots received after 7:00 p.m. the day before the election but not later than the fifth business day after the election shall be processed by the resolution board.

(2) The resolution board shall also take such action as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State to ensure compliance with the identification requirements of Section 23-15-563.

(3) The resolution board shall process the absentee ballots using the procedure provided in subsection (1) of this section.

SECTION 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.