JACKSON, Miss.—Mississippi could have an early voting period that begins 15 days before an election under a bill the state Senate passed on Feb. 12, 2025.
Under Senate Bill 2654, voters would not need approval or an excuse to vote early and could cast ballots early until noon on the Saturday before an election. The Mississippi Senate passed a bill with the same language in 2024, but it died in the House.
S.B. 2654 would replace in-person absentee voting that begins 45 days before an election. Mississippians still could vote absentee via mail-in ballots, the bill says.
Mississippi is one of three states that does not have early voting. The bill’s author, Sen. Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, said one reason he wants to establish early voting is because many Mississippians have expressed confusion about not being able to vote early like residents of other states can.
“It allows them to not have an excuse. So your shift worker who may get called into work may not know (ahead of time) that they have to work on that Tuesday (Election Day),” England said on the Senate floor on Feb. 11.
During a Senate Elections Committee meeting on Jan. 30, Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, raised concerns about county circuit clerks’ offices dealing with long lines for early voting since in-person absentee voting 45 days ahead of the election already has long wait times in some places. England said he consulted several clerks when writing his bill.
“Even if there are long lines, it’s going to be an easier process for voters and for the clerks’ offices,” he said at that meeting.
S.B. 2654 had bipartisan support from the Mississippi Senate, which passed the bill on Feb. 11 by a 39-12 vote. It heads to the House for consideration.
Reeves, McDaniel Criticize England for Early-Voting Bill
After the Senate passed the bill, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves criticized England for supporting early voting, seemingly questioning the Coast senator’s commitment to the Republican Party. The GOP governor said England was siding with the Mississippi Democratic Party on the issue.
“I believe Mississippians want our elected leaders to make our elections more secure and make it harder to cheat—in fact, after the 2020 elections Republicans are demanding it!! Unfortunately Senator Jeremy England joined every Senate Democrat today to do the exact opposite with his no-excuse Early Voting bill—one of the top priorities of the Mississippi Democrat Party,” Reeves posted on social media on Feb. 12.
During the 2023 statewide election, at least nine Hinds County voting precincts ran out of ballots and had long wait times to vote, causing a judge to extend the voting deadline to 8 p.m. to ensure voters had the equal opportunity to vote. Reeves claimed that the Mississippi Democratic Party violated the law by asking a judge to allow certain Hinds County precincts to remain open after 7 p.m.
“Bottom line: No-excuse early voting in Mississippi is bad for election integrity,” Reeves posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Feb. 12.
Former Sen. Chris McDaniel said England was “nasty and vicious” for calling McDaniel’s supporters “garbage” and “trash” in 2023, saying England was wrong for tearing “conservatives down” and “proudly announcing he didn’t support President Trump.”
“Now he’s been caught red-handed playing the RINO (Republican in name only) game, and suddenly, he’s playing the victim because people are calling him out,” McDaniel said on Facebook on Feb. 12. “It’s strange how tough talk turns into thin skin.”
England responded to Reeves’ and McDaniel’s posts by clarifying how his early-voting bill helps Mississippians have greater access to voting in their busy everyday lives.
“‘Early voting’ is not something that is owned by one party or the other—though I will say I truly believe Republicans will get left behind if we do not get on board. A prime example from recent history: We saw our Republican Party lose the Presidential Election in 2020 while we shunned and ignored in-person early voting. However, our Republican Party embraced and promoted in-person early voting in 2024, and we won big,” England posted on Facebook on Feb. 12.
Ending Felony Disenfranchisement
Mississippi residents who are barred from voting for life because of a past conviction for a disenfranchising crime could automatically gain back their right to vote and get their records expunged five years after completing all sentencing requirements, including probation and parole, under House Bill 940.
Mississippi is one of 13 states that permanently takes away a person’s right to vote during and after incarceration if a person has been convicted of any of the 23 disenfranchising crimes.
Before presenting the bill to the House Constitution Committee, some representatives amended H.B. 940 so it would not include any disenfranchising crimes and would only address expungement, Mississippi House Rep. Price Wallace, R-Mendenhall, said at a House Constitution committee meeting on Feb. 4.
Rep. Kabir Karriem, D-Columbus, has been trying to end felony disenfranchisement in Mississippi for the past several legislative sessions, including in 2024 when he introduced House Bill 1609, which he said is identical to 2025’s H.B. 940. H.B. 1609 passed out of the House but died in the Senate Constitution and Judiciary B committees in 2024.
“The problem is getting them to understand on the Senate side that voter restoration is a major issue and concern in the State of Mississippi,” Karriem told the Mississippi Free Press on Feb. 4.
H.B. 940 passed out of the House Constitution committee on Feb. 4. It heads to the House floor for an official vote among all members.
Congressional Elections
Senate Bill 2656 would set U.S. congressional primary elections during March of each year in which voters elect congress members. Congress’ primary elections do not have a set date under current Mississippi law. A primary runoff election would occur four weeks after the primary election under the bill.
Sen. Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, said all four of Mississippi’s congressmen approve of his bill.
“They are looking to have their primary at the same time every year. These guys have to run every year, which has got to be tough,” he said in a Jan. 30 Senate Elections Committee meeting.
The Senate Elections Committee passed the bill on Jan. 30 and sent it to the Senate floor for a vote.
Runoff Elections If No Candidate Receives Majority Vote
If no candidate receives more than 50% of votes during a general election, the county or municipality would need to host a runoff election to determine a winner under House Bill 291 and House Bill 1585. Both bills have the same language except H.B. 291 addresses counties and H.B. 1585 addresses cities and municipalities.
“People winning elections with only 20% to 30% of the vote can lead to candidates with extreme viewpoints winning,” Rep. Noah Sanford, R-Collins, said when introducing the bill on the House floor on Feb. 11.
The House passed H.B. 291 by an 85-13 vote and H.B. 1585 by a 96-13 vote on Feb. 11, sending it to the Senate for consideration.
Revising Candidate Qualification Process
Candidates must submit their notarized, written statements with name, address, political party, email address, office sought, and pay fees and present their valid Mississippi identification card by Feb. 1 during the year of the primary election or on the candidate qualifying deadline date when they submit their intent to run for office with the circuit clerk of the candidate’s county of residence under House Bill 811.
Candidates are required to live in the jurisdiction where they are running for an election for a certain period of time ahead of the election. Candidates are disqualified if they vote outside of their jurisdiction during that time period.
“Under this new process, the executive committee would review and determine whether or not to certify a candidate,” Rep. Shanda Yates, I-Jackson, said on the House floor on Feb. 11. “They would then send that list to the secretary of state’s office. The secretary of state’s office would review the executive committee’s decisions. If the secretary of state’s office agrees with the committee’s determinations, that determination would stand. If the secretary of state’s office found that the executive committee determination was an error, then the secretary of state’s office would send notice of this to the executive committee and candidate and provide either with an opportunity to appeal. Any candidate that was aggrieved by the secretary of state’s appeal process could then appeal to the circuit court.”
State executive political party committees who turn in candidates forms and fees to Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson’s office after 6 p.m. on the candidate-qualifying deadline day must pay a $500 late fee per candidate qualifying form, the bill says.
If the secretary of state disqualifies a candidate or if a person wants to challenge another person’s candidacy qualifications, H.B. 811 says the person or candidate can file a petition for judicial review through a notarized written statement at the circuit court of the county the candidate resides in within 21 days of the secretary of state’s decision. After hearing the evidence, a trial judge would determine whether the candidate qualified for office “at the earliest possible date to be fixed by the judge,” the bill says.
If a person wants to challenge another person’s candidacy qualifications, H.B. 811 says the challenger must file a petition with the same state political-party executive committee that the candidate qualified for within 31 days after the first primary election. The “appropriate election officials” must meet and decide on the ruling within 10 days of the person filing the petition and give notice of the hearing to the petitioner and the candidate being challenged at least two days before the hearing, the bill says.
“Each party shall be given an opportunity to be heard at such meeting and present evidence in support of his position,” H.B. 811 says.
The House passed the bill by an 82-29 vote on Feb. 11 and sent it to the Senate for consideration.
Affidavit Ballots
A voter’s affidavit ballot could serve as voter registration if the voter was not registered in the jurisdiction they tried to vote in but was eligible to vote in that jurisdiction under House Bill 871.
Rep. Timaka James-Jones, D-Belzoni, said people whose names the secretary of state’s office purged from the voter rolls can use the affidavit ballot to get their names back on the rolls under the legislation.
“It is your affidavit to say where you are and where you live and where you reside, so it’s the same info you’d have for a voter registration form,” she said on the House floor on Feb. 5. “It’s not the same as same-day voter registration, so it’s not like you get to complete your form and go to vote. It is just the envelope that is used for your voter registration form if you happen to have to vote using an affidavit ballot.”
The House passed the bill 103-6 on Feb. 5 and sent it to the Senate for consideration.
Standardizing Municipal Candidate Qualifications
The Mississippi secretary of state would have to create a standardized form for municipal candidates to use across the state when qualifying for office under House Bill 726. House Rep. Mark Tullos, R-Raleigh, said some cities across the state do not follow Mississippi statutes for candidate qualifying forms, so the secretary’s office needs to implement a uniform system statewide.
The House passed the bill by a 111-0 vote on Feb. 5 and sent it to the Senate for consideration.
Popular Parties Atop the Ballot
The political parties that at least 10% of voters voted for in the previous year would list their candidates in alphabetical order at the top of Mississippi ballots under House Bill 38. In Mississippi, Rep. Noah Sanford, R-Collins, said only Republicans and Democrats get at least 10% of the vote. He said if this system had been in place during the 2024 election, Kamala Harris’ name would have been first followed by Donald Trump and then all of the third-party and Independent candidates.
“This is, I think, a very straightforward way of doing this that’ll make it a lot more easier for people to find what they’re looking for,” Sanford said on the House floor on Feb. 5.
The House passed the bill 93-16 on Feb. 5 and sent it to the Senate for consideration.