JACKSON, Miss.—Mississippi circuit clerks would need to receive mail-in absentee ballots the day before an election under House Bill 908, which would go into effect if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Mississippi’s law that allows the counting of late-arriving mail ballots.
“In 2020, we passed a law that allowed ballots that are received by mail to count if they are received within five days of the election day as long as they are postmarked on Election Day,” Mississippi House Rep. Noah Sanford, R-Collins, said on the House floor on Feb. 4.
Several Republican-appointed members of the U.S. Supreme Court showed interest in striking down that law when hearing oral arguments in Watson v. Republican National Committee on Monday, March 23. The Republican National Committee argued that Mississippi’s law goes against federal law that says the Tuesday after the first Monday in November is Election Day.
Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart disagreed, telling justices on Monday that voters are making their choices by Election Day and that states run elections, not the federal government. The court’s decision is expected sometime this summer.
If the court does strike down the law, then H.B. 908 would require all mail-in ballots be received at least the day before Election Day for that person’s vote to count.
The 2027 election will have state representatives and state senators on the ballot, along with Mississippi’s top eight elected officials, including governor and lieutenant governor, but no federal offices.
“Assuming that the Supreme Court strikes down our law, our next year, when we run, is going to be nothing but state,” Rep. Bryant Clark, D-Pickens, asked the chairman. “It’s not going to be a federal election. So would this new law apply to that election as well?”
“It would,” Sanford replied. “But I expect, depending on what the Supreme Court does, we’ll address it next year, is my intention, if we need to.”
The House passed H.B. 908 by a 119-1 vote on Feb. 10 and the Senate passed it by a 51-1 vote on March 10. Gov. Tate Reeves signed it into law on March 19.
“Watson v. RNC is about a simple principle: ballots must be received by Election Day,” Ally Triolo, the Republican National Committee election integrity communications director, told the Mississippi Free Press in a March 24 statement. “This prevents elections from dragging on for days and weeks after voters have cast their ballots, causing confusion and undermining our elections. 83 percent of voters agree ballots should be in by Election Day, and 78 percent say it makes elections more secure.”
Removing Absentee Ballot Envelopes
Mississippians voting via in-person absentee ballot will no longer have to place their ballot in an envelope under a bill Gov. Tate Reeves signed that allows in-person absentee voters to submit their votes directly into the vote-counting machine.
House Bill 859 lines up voters to file their in-person absentee ballots into the tabulation machine—known as an OMR machine—just like voters do when they cast ballots on Election Day.
The legislation says allowing in-person absentee voters to cast ballots straight into the OMR machine means county election commissioners will count those votes first, immediately after polls close on election night to speed up the vote-counting process, Apportionment and Elections Committee Chairman Rep. Noah Sanford said when introducing the bill to the committee during a Jan. 29 meeting.
“A lot of people don’t want to vote on the envelope system because they’re afraid people can see their votes,” he said.
In-person absentee voters would still have to complete an absentee ballot application and sign the elector’s certificate at their circuit clerk’s office before submitting their ballot into the OMR machine under the legislation.
Circuit clerks worked with the Legislature to craft H.B. 859, Senate Elections Committee Chairman Sen. Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, said when he introduced the legislation on the Senate floor on March 10.
The House passed H.B. 859 Act by a 119-1 vote on Feb. 10 and the Senate passed it by a 51-1 vote on March 4. Gov. Tate Reeves signed it into law on March 19.
Sample Election Ballots Timeline
The Mississippi secretary of state’s office typically has to provide sample election ballots to cities and counties no less than 60 days before an election. But with runoff elections scheduled for four weeks after an election, the SOS office would have to give sample ballots later than state law demands.
House Bill 907 would change that timeframe for the secretary of state to provide runoff election sample ballots to localities to be “as soon as practicable.”
“What happens now if that is not prepared or published before the 60 day deadline?” Sen. Rod Hickman, D-Macon, asked Sen. Jeremy England on the Senate floor on March 9.
“I’m not sure that it’s ever happened, so I’m not sure what the ramifications would be to the secretary of state’s office if they did not publish them, but I can find out and let you know,” England replied.
“OK. And so, we don’t know what will happen or who challenges this reasonableness of when they need to be published and xyz,” Hickman said.
“That’s right,” England responded. “It’s a good law, Sen. Hickman.”
“What’s the purpose of them publishing or providing this sample ballot?” Hickman inquired.
“The official sample ballot being published as soon as possible so that your clerks and everyone can prepare the ballots to get ready for the election,” England replied.
H.B. 907 passed the House on Feb. 4 by a 119-0 vote and gained approval from the Senate on March 9 by a 51-0 vote. Gov. Tate Reeves signed it into law on March 17.
OMR Voting Machines Connected to Internet
OMR voting machines would not be able to access or connect to the internet in any way during an election under a bill the Mississippi Legislature sent to the governor. The machines could still have the capability to connect to the internet under House Bill 858 but they must not be able to use the internet when constituents are casting ballots.
“It’s my understanding that if you can connect to the internet, there’s a concern about whether the results can be tampered with or the machine could be tampered with, so if you don’t have internet connection, then you avoid that possibility,” England said at a Feb. 26 Senate Elections Committee meeting.
The House passed H.B. 858 by a 116-1 vote on Feb. 4 and the Senate unanimously approved it on March 10. Gov. Tate Reeves signed it into law on March 20.
This article was edited at 3:25 p.m. on March 24 to include a statement from the Republican National Committee that it sent to the Mississippi Free Press at 3:21 p.m.