Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 23 - ELECTIONS (§§ 23-NEW-NEW-001 — 23-17-61) › Chapter 15 - MISSISSIPPI ELECTION CODE (§§ 23-15-NEW — 23-15-1111) › Article 3 - VOTER REGISTRATION (§§ 23-15-11 — 23-15-169.7) › Subarticle B - PROCEDURES FOR REGISTRATION (§§ 23-15-31 — 23-15-49) › Section 23-15-39 - Form of application for registration; allowances for office supplies; determination on application; notice to applicant; assistance to applicant; voter registration number; fees and costs; forwarding of application

(1)
Applications for registration as electors of this state, which are sworn to and subscribed before the registrar or deputy registrar authorized by law and which are not made by mail, shall be made upon a form established by rule duly adopted by the Secretary of State.
(2)
The boards of supervisors shall make proper allowances for office supplies reasonably necessitated by the registration of county electors.
(3)
If the applicant indicates on the application that he or she resides within the city limits of a city or town in the county of registration, the county registrar shall process the application for registration or changes to the registration as provided by law.
(4)
If the applicant indicates on the application that he or she has previously registered to vote in another county of this state or another state, notice to the voter's previous county of registration in this state shall be provided by the Statewide Elections Management System. If the voter's previous place of registration was in another state, notice shall be provided to the voter's previous state of residence if the Statewide Elections Management System has that capability.
(5)
The county registrar shall provide to the person making the application a copy of the application upon which has been written the county voting precinct and municipal voting precinct, if any, in which the person shall vote. Upon entry of the voter registration information into the Statewide Elections Management System, the system shall assign a voter registration number to the person, and the county registrar shall mail the applicant a voter registration card to the mailing address provided on the application.
(6)
Any person desiring an application for registration may secure an application from the registrar of the county of which he or she is a resident and may take the application with him or her and secure assistance in completing the application from any person of the applicant's choice. It shall be the duty of all registrars to furnish applications for registration to all persons requesting them, and it shall likewise be the registrar's duty to furnish aid and assistance in the completing of the application when requested by an applicant. The application for registration shall be sworn to and subscribed before the registrar or deputy registrar at the municipal clerk's office, the county registrar's office or any other location where the applicant is allowed to register to vote. The registrar shall not charge a fee or cost to the applicant for accepting the application or administering the oath or for any other duty imposed by law regarding the registration of electors.
(7)
If the person making the application is unable to read or write, for reason of disability or otherwise, he or she shall not be required to personally complete the application in writing and execute the oath. In such cases, the registrar or deputy registrar shall read the application and oath to the person and the person's answers thereto shall be recorded by the registrar or the registrar's deputy. The person shall be registered as an elector if he or she otherwise meets the requirements to be registered as an elector. The registrar shall record the responses of the person and the recorded responses shall be retained permanently by the registrar. The county registrar shall enter the voter registration information into the Statewide Elections Management System and designate the entry as an assisted filing.
(8)
The receipt of a copy of the application for registration sent pursuant to Section
23-15-35(2)
shall be sufficient to allow the applicant to be registered as an elector of this state, if the application is not challenged.
(9)
In any case in which the corporate boundaries of a municipality change, whether by annexation or redistricting, the municipal clerk shall, within ten (10) days after approval of the change in corporate boundaries, provide to the county registrar conforming geographic data that is compatible with the Statewide Elections Management System. The data shall be developed by the municipality's use of a standardized format specified by the Statewide Elections Management System. The county registrar, county election commissioner or other county official, who has completed an annual training seminar sponsored by the Secretary of State pertaining to the implementation of new boundary lines in the Statewide Elections Management System and received certification for that training, shall update the municipal boundary information into the Statewide Elections Management System. The Statewide Elections Management System updates the municipal voter registration records and assigns electors to their municipal voting precincts. The county registrar shall forward to the municipal clerk written notification of the additions and changes, and the municipal clerk shall forward to the affected municipal electors written notification of the additions and changes.
Derived from 1972 Code §
23-5-17
[(Codes, 1942, § 3209.6; Laws, 1955, Ex ch. 102, § 1; Laws, 1960, ch. 449, § 1; Laws, 1962, ch. 569, § 1; Laws, 1965, Ex Sess, ch. 10, §§ 1-4) and § 23-5-303 (Codes, 1942, § 3203-502; Laws, 1972, ch 490, § 502; Laws, 1975, ch 502, § 1; Laws, 1984, ch. 457, § 1); repealed by Laws, 1986, ch 495, §§ 335, 337]; en Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 12; Laws, 1988, ch. 350, § 3; Laws, 1991, ch. 440, § 8; Laws, 2000, ch. 592, § 1; Laws, 2001, ch. 308, § 1; Laws, 2004, ch. 305, § 9; Laws, 2006, ch. 574, § 3, eff. 6/5/2006 (the date the United States Attorney General interposed no objection under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965).
Brought forward without change by Laws, 2019, ch. 340, HB 914,§ 7, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by Laws, 2017, ch. 441, HB 467, 10, eff. 7/1/2017.