- Governor Reeves comes out swinging in opposition to Senate early voting bill. Senate Election Chairman England says, “I don’t care if you’re Governor. You won’t bully me.”
For the second consecutive year, the Mississippi Senate has passed an early voting bill authored by State Senator Jeremy England (R) that would allow no excuse, 15-day voting prior to an election day.
England’s bill – SB 2654 – is similar to the legislation he filed in 2024 which passed the Senate by a vote of 44 to 8 but ultimately died in the House. On Tuesday, the legislation passed the chamber by a vote of 39-12.
READ MORE: Early voting legislation dies in House
The legislation would eliminate the need for in-person absentee voting, which currently requires a lawful reason, or excuse, to be eligible to cast a ballot absentee. However, mail-in absentee voting would still be accessible under England’s bill.
Senator England told his colleagues that Mississippi was one of only three states without early voting. He said not having it is causing confusion and frustration in elections as it becomes more prevalent across the nation.
As for election integrity, England said the legislation goes to the heart of the matter as it means votes are more secure and able to be counted quicker on election night.
“One of the things that make our election system so strong and so great and help the integrity behind our elections is when we can have as many votes counted on the night of the election as possible,” England said. “With this bill, with this ballot being printed and cast into that ballot machine, and those results being tabulated on the night of the election, those votes are counted. You don’t have to take envelopes. You don’t have to look at signatures. You don’t have to look at all off that and then count those ballots.”
During the Senate floor debate on the bill, Senators Jeff Tate (R) and Joel Carter (R), both who have announced their candidacy for Secretary of State in 2027, questioned England and ultimately voted against the measure.
Tate offered a strike-all amendment that would have replaced England’s bill and kept the 45-day absentee voting process as it is currently, with the exception that the absentee ballot being cast would not be placed in an envelope but instead be scanned into a voting machine.
“This is something I’ve reached out to all 82 Circuit Clerks in the state,” Tate said, adding that 48 of them do not want early voting. “[Early voting] is not feasible for them.”
Tate told senators he reached out to 54 clerks on his amendment and 51 endorsed his procedure over early voting. He called early voting an unfunded mandate that would cause issues for local clerks.
“I believe in the institution of Election Day voting,” Senator Tate said. “I think that that’s crucial. I think that that’s important. I think that what this does is this incentivizes the bussing of folks the courthouse to vote and there’s a lot of question marks whenever you have something like that happen.”
Prior to Tate’s amendment being voted down, Senator England countered Tate by saying his amendment is essentially early voting with an excuse.
“I do not think we should have an excuse to take advantage of [early voting],” England said.
Senator Carter asked England if he has spoken with Circuit Clerks to get their perspective on the legislation.
“I’ve talked to many,” England said. “Particularly, my own, and I’ve made phone calls, a number of you have asked me to reach out and talk to them and I have done that with many of them. I’ve talked to their association as well and let them know that going forward on this that they are, I think what I actually told them is that it would be arrogant of me not to invite them and the election commissioners to the table going forward to make sure that we have the best voting system in America right here in Mississippi, because they’re a great part of that.”
Carter said a poll he received from the clerks’ association showed that they majority were against early voting, to which England said he’s seen polling to the contrary. Carter expressed that there is a concern of long lines for those over 65 years old.
“I think that’s a concern we’ll deal with. Again, 47 other states do this. They don’t have a problem. I know that our clerks in Mississippi, I’m very confident that they can pass this,” England said.
Last year, the legislation died in the House, as Apportionment and Elections Chairman Rep. Noah Sanford (R) did not move it forward. Senator England said that after a joint hearing late last year, he believes the measure would be taken up by the House this session.
READ MORE: Lawmakers hold joint hearing on early voting, online voter registration
Following the vote, Governor Tate Reeves (R) took issue with the Senate bill, more specifically with England, saying every Republican Elections Chairman before him had killed this “terrible idea.”
“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 wrote on social media, adding, “Congrats to Senator England – he has earned his MVP award for the Mississippi Democratic Party! But – please know – I’m not going to stop fighting for those who believe in secure elections!!”
England responded to the Governor’s comments by saying, “I don’t care if you’re Governor. You won’t bully me. And you’re just plain wrong on this one.”
After a motion to reconsider is tabled, the legislation will be transmitted to the House where it is expected that Rep. Sanford will again be tasked with considering the bill’s future.
Frank Corder
