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 15 - VOTING SYSTEMS (§§ 23-15-391 — 23-15-533.3) › Subarticle D - OPTICAL MARK READING EQUIPMENT (§§ 23-15-501 — 23-15-525) › Section 23-15-511 - Form of ballots; posting of sample ballots; ballot security envelopes

The ballots shall, as far as practicable, be in the same order of arrangement as provided for paper ballots that are to be counted manually, except that the information may be printed in vertical or horizontal rows. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as prohibiting the information being presented to the voters from being printed on both sides of a single ballot. In those years when a special election shall occur on the same day as the general election, the names of candidates in any special election and the general election shall be placed on the same ballot by the election commissioners or officials in charge of the election, but the general election candidates shall be clearly distinguished from the special election candidates. At any time a special election is held on the same day as a party primary election, the names of the candidates in the special election may be placed on the same ballot by the officials in charge of the election, but shall be clearly distinguished as special election candidates or primary election candidates.
Ballots shall be printed in plain clear type in black ink and upon clear white materials of such size and arrangement as to be compatible with the OMR equipment. Absentee ballots shall be prepared and printed in the same form and shall be on the same size and texture as the regular official ballots, except that they shall be printed on tinted paper; or the ink used to print the ballots shall be of a color different from that of the ink used to print the regular official ballots. Arrows may be printed on the ballot to indicate the place to mark the ballot, which may be to the right or left of the names of candidates and propositions. The titles of offices may be arranged in vertical columns on the ballot and shall be printed above or at the side of the names of candidates so as to indicate clearly the candidates for each office and the number to be elected. In case there are more candidates for an office than can be printed in one (1) column, the ballot shall be clearly marked that the list of candidates is continued on the following column. The names of candidates for each office shall be printed in vertical columns, grouped by the offices that they seek. In partisan elections, the party designation of each candidate, which may be abbreviated, shall be printed following his or her name.
One (1) sample ballot, which shall be a facsimile of the official ballot and instructions to the voters, shall be provided for each precinct and shall be posted in each polling place on election day.
A separate ballot security envelope or suitable equivalent in which the voter can place his or her ballot after voting, shall be provided to conceal the choices the voter has made. Absentee voters will receive a similar ballot security envelope provided by the county in which the absentee voter will insert their voted ballot, which then can be inserted into a return envelope to be mailed back to the election official. Absentee ballots will not be required to be folded when a ballot security envelope is provided.
Derived from 1972 Code § 23-7-511 [Laws, 1984, ch. 509, § 6; repealed by Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 340]; Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 162, eff. 1/1/1987.
Amended by Laws, 2017, ch. 441, HB 467, 90, eff. 7/1/2017.