Lawmakers add criminal penalty for failing to transmit a Mississippi voter’s ballot

• The measure started as a felony in the House but was reduced to a misdemeanor in Senate. It awaits Governor Tate Reeves’ signature.

Failing to properly submit a ballot when assisting a voter will soon be a misdemeanor in Mississippi if Governor Tate Reeves (R) signs HB 724 into law.

The original House-backed version of the legislation authored by State Rep. Noah Sanford (R) would have made the willful failure to transmit a voter’s ballot a felony accompanied by no more than three years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.

When presenting the legislation, Sanford referred to prior legislation that restricted ballot harvesting in the state.

“This [proposed] law would create a criminal penalty for something probably all of us would assume would already be criminal and that would be if you are tasked with transmitting someone’s ballot for them and you purposely choose not to transmit it,” the House Apportionment and Elections Committee chairman said.

The only persons allowed to transmit a voter’s ballot in Mississippi are a family member, household member or caregiver.

Sanford said failing to take a ballot to the post office or the clerk’s office, or if it is destroyed, would fall under the parameters of the bill.

“This is not to catch someone who negligently doesn’t turn your ballot in,” Sanford added. “This requires the intention of doing so to deprive you of your vote.”

Sanford’s original bill passed the House 91 to 18.

However, the measure was amended in the Senate Elections Committee, reducing the crime to a misdemeanor as well as lowering the penalties to no more than one year in prison and up to a $1,000 fine.

When the bill was taken up in the Senate committee, Elections Chairman Jeremy England (R) reminded members that a similar measure in the chamber was amended after Senator David Blount (D) sought the reduced penalty from a felony to a misdemeanor. England then said he spoke with the Attorney General’s office, noting that they were good with the reduced penalties in the amended version.

The amended version unanimously passed the Senate and was then transmitted to the House for concurrence where it received a 109 to 3 vote of approval.