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 A - QUALIFICATION OF ELECTORS (§§ 23-15-11 — 23-15-21) › Section 23-15-15 - Procedure upon receipt of completed voter registration application if certain information indicates applicant is not a U.S. citizen; notice to applicant and opportunity to provide proof of citizenship; documentation accepted as proof of citizenship; procedure upon failure of applicant to provide proof of citizenship

(1)
By January 1, 2025, the Secretary of State shall compare the entire Statewide Elections Management System to the Department of Public Safety Driver's License Database and follow the procedures outlined in subsections (2) through (8) of this section if a voter is flagged in the database as a potential noncitizen.
(2)
Upon receiving a completed voter registration application, the registrar shall enter the applicant into the Statewide Elections Management System. The registration application shall be compared with the Department of Public Safety driver's license and identification information. If such information indicates that a particular applicant is not a citizen of the United States, the Statewide Elections Management System shall notify the registrar, or his or her designee, that the applicant may not be a citizen of the United States.
(3)
After receiving the notice from the Statewide Elections Management System as provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section, the registrar, or his or her designee, shall:
(a)
Enter the applicant's information into the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) or its successor database for further inquiry; and
(b)
If both the Department of Public Safety driver's license and identification information and the database in paragraph (a) of this subsection indicate that the applicant is not a citizen, send a notice by first-class mail to the applicant's mailing address provided on the voter registration application inquiring whether the individual is eligible to be registered to vote. The registrar may, in addition to first-class mail, contact the applicant by email or telephone.
(4)
Any applicant who receives the notice under subsection (3)(b) of this section shall, within thirty (30) days of the receipt of such notice, provide proof of citizenship to the registrar or his or her designee.
(5)
For purposes of this section, proof of citizenship includes, but is not limited to:
(a)
The applicant's birth certificate or a legible photocopy of the birth certificate;
(b)
A United States passport, or a legible photocopy of the pertinent pages of the passport, identifying the applicant and showing the passport number;
(c)
The applicant's United States naturalization documentation, a legible photocopy of the naturalization documentation, or the number of the applicant's Certificate of Naturalization; except that any person who provides the number of the Certificate of Naturalization in lieu of the naturalization documentation shall not be deemed to have provided proof of citizenship until the number is verified with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security or its successor; or
(d)
Any document or method of proof of citizenship established by the Federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Public Law 99-603, compiled in
8 USC Section 1101
et seq.
(6)
If the applicant provides proof of citizenship and meets all other qualifications provided by law, the registrar shall register the applicant to vote.
(7)
If the applicant does not reply to the notice or provide proof of citizenship, the registrar of the county, or his or her designee, where the person registered to vote shall mark the applicant as "PENDING" in the Statewide Elections Management System until the next federal general election:
(a)
A voter in pending status may cast an affidavit ballot. The affidavit ballot shall be considered if the voter provides the required documentation under subsection (5) of this section to the registrar within five (5) days of casting the affidavit ballot.
(b)
If the applicant fails to respond to the notice or cast an affidavit ballot and provide the proof described in subsection (5) of this section by the next federal general election, the registrar shall mark the applicant as "REJECTED" in the Statewide Elections Management System.
(8)
All documentation provided to show proof of citizenship as well as the Department of Public Safety database or relevant federal and state agency and county records shall be confidential and shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.
Derived from 1972 Code § 23-5-39 [Codes, 1930, § 6188; 1942, § 3216; Laws, 1924, ch. 154; Laws, 1934, ch. 310; repealed by Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 335]; Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 4, eff. 1/1/1987.
Amended by Laws, 2023, ch. 534, HB 1310,§ 7, eff. 1/1/2024.
Amended by Laws, 2022, ch. 415, HB 1510,§ 1, eff. 4/14/2022.
Amended by Laws, 2017, ch. 441, HB 467, 4, eff. 7/1/2017.