Senate Bill 2634

AN ACT TO CREATE THE "MISSISSIPPI 'I VOTED' STICKER CONTEST ACT"; TO REQUIRE THAT THE SECRETARY OF STATE OVERSEE THE STATEWIDE VOTING STICKER CONTEST; TO PROVIDE GUIDELINES FOR THE VOTING STICKER CONTEST; TO REQUIRE THAT THE SECRETARY OF STATE WILL CREATE A SUBMISSION PLATFORM FOR CONTESTANTS AND PROMULGATE ADDITIONAL RULES AND REGULATIONS NECESSARY FOR THE VOTING STICKER CONTEST; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) This section shall be known as the "Mississippi "I voted" Sticker Contest Act."

(2) Beginning January 2026, the Secretary of State shall oversee an annual statewide "I voted" sticker contest. The contest shall be broken up into four (4) categories: elementary school, middle school, high school and adult submissions. Rules for the contest are as follows:

(a) Contestants must be Mississippi residents;

(b) All entries must consist of the contestants' original work, and should not include any images covered by copyright, photographic images, trademarked images or any other material that would be considered plagiarism. Including prohibited images will result in an automatic disqualification;

(c) The design must be suitable and readable within the sticker outline template provided by Secretary of State's office;

(d) Designs must be created using crayons, paint, pencil, ink, other mixed media materials or digital drawing and art tools. Contestants may not use AI generative software to create their designs;

(e) The design of the sticker must include the phrase "I voted" within the design;

(f) Entries may not explicitly or implicitly promote a candidate, political party or political issue. All submissions must be non-partisan;

(g) Entries containing or depicting inappropriate, controversial or sensationalistic images or messages are not allowed and may be rejected at the sole discretion of the Mississippi Secretary of State's office;

(h) If the contestant is eighteen (18) years old or younger, the individual must have permission from a parent or legal guardian to participate in the contest and be contacted regarding his or her submission;

(i) Contestants may only submit one (1) design to the contest each year. If more than one (1) design is submitted, the first submission received by the Secretary of State's office shall be considered as the contestant's submission to the contest; and

(j) By entering the competition with a submission, the participant is allowing the Mississippi Secretary of State's office, its agents or local government offices, to use, reproduce, edit, publish in any medium or media, his or her submission in whole or in part, for any non-commercial purpose in perpetuity.

(3) The Secretary of State shall create an online submission platform for contestants to submit their sticker design. Members of the Secretary of State's office shall review submissions to ensure compliance with contest rules and determine the top three (3) submissions in each of the four (4) age categories. The public at large shall have the opportunity to vote and select the winning sticker for each age category. The winning "I voted" sticker designs may be distributed as an official voting sticker in the state of Mississippi during elections for a two (2) year period following the announcement of the winner.

(4) The Secretary of State shall have the authority to promulgate additional rules and regulations regarding the administration and execution of the Mississippi "I voted" Sticker Contest.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025.