Sen. Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, presents legislation in the Senate Chamber at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. Lawmakers in both chambers are considering bills that survived their committee deadline. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
- The Senate had overwhelmingly agreed to the conference report while the House passed it unanimously.
In a last-minute turn of events, the Mississippi Senate allowed the compromised In-person Early Voting Act to die Thursday before adjourning sine die.
After the compromise legislation passed the chamber 42-7 on Tuesday, it was held on a motion to reconsider and allowed to die Thursday even after the House unanimously agreed to the measure.
Senate Elections Committee chairman Jeremey England (R) told Magnolia Tribune when working through the conference report, there was some language that needed to be fixed, “things that could have been fixed next year, but I want to get that taken care of in one bill.”
“These were small fixes to help the process function better, and we need to make certain things more clear,” he said.
England continued by saying, “The good news is we have a great starting point for next session that was passed unanimously in the House and very heavily supported in the Senate.”
He said the chambers now have a clear agreement on the major parts of legislation that will create “a more convenient and secure way to vote.”
Under the compromise, an in-person excused voting period would have began 22 days before the date of each primary, general, runoff, special and municipal election for public office and continued until noon on the Saturday immediately preceding an election day.
Valid excuses for voting early in the bill were similar to what has been in practice for the 45-day absentee voting period in the past with the addition of language added in the House regarding excuses for anticipating being at work and being a caretaker of a child, disabled person, or senior citizen was added in the measure.
The compromise came after Governor Tate Reeves (R) raised concerns over a Senate proposal from England that would have allowed for no excuse, 15-day voting prior to an Election Day, effectively ending the need for absentee voting in Mississippi.
State Rep. Noah Sanford (R), chairman of the House Apportionment and Elections Committee, soon thereafter said the House lacked support for early voting. He offered an amendment that replaced the early voting provisions in the bill with an expanded version of absentee balloting.
Conferees from the two chambers hashed out their difference and then presented the now failed compromise conference report.
Mississippi will remain one of three states without an early voting period. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, Mississippi, Alabama and New Hampshire are the only states in the nation that do not allow in-person early voting.
Frank Corder
