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 1 - IN GENERAL (§§ 23-15-NEW — 23-15-7) › Section 23-15-7 - Mississippi Voter Identification Card

(1)
The Secretary of State shall negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding which shall be entered into by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the registrar of each county for the purpose of providing a Mississippi Voter Identification Card. The card shall be valid for the purpose of voter identification purposes under Section
23-15-563
and available only to registered voters of this state. No fee shall be charged or collected for the application for or issuance of a Mississippi Voter Identification Card. Any costs associated with the application for or issuance of a Mississippi Voter Identification Card shall be made payable from the state's General Fund.
(2)
The registrar of each county shall provide a location in the registrar's office at which he or she shall accept applications for Mississippi Voter Identification Cards in accordance with the Mississippi Constitution; however, in counties having two (2) judicial districts the registrar shall provide a location in the registrar's office in each judicial district at which he or she shall accept applications for Mississippi Voter Identification Cards in accordance with the Mississippi Constitution.
(3)
No person shall be eligible for a Mississippi Voter Identification Card if the person has a valid unexpired Mississippi driver's license or an identification card issued under Section
45-35-1
et seq.
(4)
(a)
The Mississippi Voter Identification Card shall be captioned "MISSISSIPPI VOTER IDENTIFICATION CARD" and shall contain a prominent statement that under Mississippi law it is valid only as identification for voting purposes. The identification card shall include the following information regarding the applicant:
(i)
Full legal name;
(ii)
Legal residence address;
(iii)
Mailing address, if different; and
(iv)
Voting information.
(b)
The Mississippi Voter Identification Card shall also contain the date the voter identification card was issued, the county in which the voter is registered and such other information as required by the Secretary of State.
(5)
The application shall be signed and sworn to by the applicant and any falsification or fraud in the making of the application shall constitute false swearing under Section
97-7-35
.
(6)
The registrar shall require presentation and verification of any of the following information during the application process before issuance of a Mississippi Voter Identification Card:
(a)
A photo identity document; or
(b)
Documentation showing the person's date and place of birth; or
(c)
A social security card; or
(d)
A Medicare card; or
(e)
A Medicaid card; or
(f)
Such other acceptable evidence of verification of residence in the county as determined by the Secretary of State.
(7)
A Mississippi Voter Identification Card shall remain valid for as long as the cardholder remains qualified to vote. It shall be the duty of a person who moves his or her residence within this state to surrender his or her voter identification card to the registrar of the county of his or her new residence and that person may thereafter apply for and receive a new card if such person is eligible under this section. It shall be the duty of a person who moves his or her residence outside this state or who ceases to be qualified to vote to surrender his or her card to the registrar who issued it.
(8)
The Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, shall adopt rules and regulations for the administration of this section.
Laws, 2012, ch. 526, § 2, eff. 8/5/2013 (the date the United States Attorney General interposed no objection under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965).
Amended by Laws, 2017, ch. 441, HB 467, 3, eff. 4/18/2017.