- Lawmakers will hear from officials from other states as well as local Circuit Clerks and election commissioners as they consider changes to Mississippi election laws.
When State Senator Jeremy England’s early voting legislation died in the Mississippi House in April, Chairman of House Apportionment and Elections State Representative Noah Sanford told Magnolia Tribune that he wanted to have a hearing on the legislation in the summer “when everything is not on deadline.”
READ MORE: Early voting legislation dies in House
Sanford is making good on that agreement with England, as the two Republican lawmakers are working together to plan a hearing hosted by the House in late August.
“Last session, the Senate sent us an early voting bill and I told people that I wanted to have a hearing on it before we try to do anything and so, we’ll discuss some of that at the hearing,” Rep. Sanford told Magnolia Tribune on Friday.
Senator England was pleased to have the hearing set. The Senate Elections Committee Chairman told Magnolia Tribune that his in-person early voting bill was relatively new last session, leading to questions of how the ballots would be secured.
“We’re going to bring in some folks to talk about what other states do and how it looks in other states,” England said Friday. “Mississippi is one of only three states that don’t have any sort of early voting.”
Senator England is hopeful that the concerns over ballot security can be assuaged in favor of finding ways to reliably provide convenience in voting.
“I just feel like we’re missing a lot of people who could vote,” England said.
Senator England’s proposed bill, which passed 44-8 in his chamber, would have allowed for 15 days of early voting prior to an Election Day, excluding Sundays and ending the Saturday before the scheduled election. The measure would have eliminated in-person absentee voting, but mail-in absentee voting would still have been accessible.
While early voting is sure to draw much of the attention at the hearing, Rep. Sanford said he also plans to have representatives from the Secretary of State’s office, election commissioners, and Circuit Clerks to discuss the mechanics of voting and election security.
“I told the Circuit Clerks to bring the boxes with them so we can see exactly how it works, exactly what securing them looks, anything related to Election Day and gearing up for Election Day,” Sanford said.
The House Chairman wants the Clerks to show how the absentee voting process works in the lead up to the presidential election, especially given the recent changes made by lawmakers.
During the 2024 session, lawmakers passed a bill that streamlines the process by which a Circuit Clerk’s office validates a person’s identity when casting an absentee ballot, no longer requiring staff to match signatures as voters are required to show a valid photo ID.
READ MORE: Absentee ballot access expanded, drop boxes prohibited in Mississippi
As previously reported, after completing an absentee ballot and inserting it in the provided envelope, absentee voters will still sign the envelope across the flap. Yet, as Senator England told his colleagues on the Senate floor when presenting the legislation, the new law clarifies that the ballot cannot be rejected for minor signature infractions.
The same law also prohibited the use of drop boxes or hand-delivery for mail-in ballots. Voters should use the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx or other common mail carriers when submitting their ballot if not voting in-person at a Circuit Clerk’s office.
The hearing on early voting and election security is set for August 28.
Frank Corder
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