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 19 - ABSENTEE BALLOTS (§§ 23-15-621 — 23-15-755) › Subarticle C - ABSENTEE VOTER LAW (§§ 23-15-711 — 23-15-721) › Section 23-15-715 - Applications for absentee ballots

Any elector desiring an absentee ballot as provided in this subarticle may secure same if:
(a)
Not more than forty-five (45) days nor later than 12:00 noon, on the Saturday immediately preceding elections held on Tuesday, the Thursday immediately preceding elections held on Saturday, or the second day immediately preceding the date of elections held on other days, he or she shall appear in person before the registrar of the county in which he resides, or for municipal elections he shall appear in person before the city clerk of the municipality in which he or she resides and, when the elector so appears, he or she shall execute and file an application as provided in Section
23-15-627
and vote by absentee ballot . If the absentee ballot has not been printed by forty-five (45) days preceding the election, the elector may appear and file an application anytime before the election. Then the absentee ballot shall be mailed by the registrar to the elector as soon as the ballot has been printed.
(b)
Within forty-five (45) days next prior to any election, any elector who cannot comply with paragraph (a) of this section by reason of temporarily residing outside the county, or any person who has a temporary or permanent physical disability, persons who are sixty-five (65) years of age or older, any person who is incarcerated in prison or jail in the county where the person is registered to vote and has not been convicted of a disenfranchising crime, or any person who is the parent, spouse or dependent of a temporarily or permanently physically disabled person who is hospitalized outside of his or her county of residence or more than fifty (50) miles away from his or her residence and such parent, spouse or dependent will be with such person on election day, may make application for an absentee ballot by mailing the appropriate application to the registrar. Only persons temporarily residing out of the county of their residence, persons having a temporary or permanent physical disability, persons who are sixty-five (65) years of age or older, any person who is incarcerated in prison or jail in the county where the person is registered to vote and has not been convicted of a disenfranchising crime, or any person who is the parent, spouse or dependent of a temporarily or permanently physically disabled person who is hospitalized outside of his or her county of residence or more than fifty (50) miles away from his or her residence, and such parent, spouse or dependent will be with such person on election day, may obtain absentee ballots by mail under the provisions of this subsection and as provided by Section
23-15-713
. Applications of persons temporarily residing outside the county shall be sworn to and subscribed before an official who is authorized to administer oaths or other official authorized to witness absentee balloting as provided in this chapter, said application to be accompanied by such verifying affidavits as required by this chapter. The applications of persons having a temporary or permanent physical disability shall not be required to be accompanied by an affidavit but shall be witnessed and signed by a person eighteen (18) years of age or older. The registrar shall send to such absent voter a proper absentee voter ballot within twenty-four (24) hours, or as soon thereafter as the ballots are available, containing the names of all candidates who qualify or the proposition to be voted on in such election, and with such ballot there shall be sent an official envelope containing upon it in printed form the recitals and data hereinafter required.
(c)
Except when the voter has requested a runoff ballot on the initial absentee ballot application, upon request for a runoff ballot pursuant to Section
23-15-719
, the registrar shall mail together the absentee ballot application and the absentee ballot to the absent voter for the runoff election.
Derived from 1972 Code § 23-9-605 [Codes, 1942, § 3203-303; Laws, 1972, ch. 490, § 303; repealed by Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 343]; Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 231; Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 231; Laws, 1993, ch. 528, § 8, eff. 8/16/1993 (the date the United States Attorney General interposed no objection).
Amended by Laws, 2024, ch. 536, HB 1406,§ 6, eff. 7/1/2024.
Amended by Laws, 2020, ch. 472, HB 1521,§ 7, eff. 7/8/2020.