Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 1 - Secretary of State › Part 17 - Absentee Voting › Chapter 3 - Counting Absentee Ballots › Rule 1-17-3.2 - Counting Absentee Ballots

Current through June 25, 2024
(a) At a time
				determined by the officials in charge of the election, but not before the
				opening of the polls, the Resolution Board, established under Section
				23-15-523, shall
				meet to process absentee ballots.
(b) The Resolution Board shall first break
				the seal on the ballot box containing the absentee ballot envelopes and
				absentee ballot applications, and remove the applications and envelopes
				containing the absentee ballots of such electors from the ballot box.
(c) The Resolution Board shall:
1) Announce the name, address, and precinct
				as shown on each absentee ballot application. (Miss. Code Ann. §
										23-15-639(1)(a)).
2) Check for the original seal of the Circuit
				Clerk and original initials of the Circuit Clerk or deputy circuit clerk on the
				absentee ballot application.
a) If the seal
				or initials are not present, mark the absentee ballot envelope "REJECTED" and
				write the reason for the rejection on the envelope.
3) Ensure the absentee ballot application is
				signed by the voter.
a) If the application is
				not signed by the voter, mark the envelope "REJECTED" and write the reason for
				the rejection on the absentee ballot envelope.
b) EXCEPTION: Military and overseas voters
				("UOCAVA") may use the Federal Post Card Application ("FPCA") to request an
				absentee ballot. The FPCA may be electronically signed by the voter, meaning
				the voter's name may be typewritten, instead of signed. A military or overseas
				absentee ballot must not be rejected for this reason.
4) Ensure the absentee ballot application is
				acknowledged or witnessed as required by law.
a) For voters who vote an absentee ballot in
				the Circuit Clerk's Office, the clerk or deputy clerk will complete the
				acknowledgement on the application. The acknowledgement is located near the
				bottom of the application and begins with the words "SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED
				BEFORE ME."
b) For voters who are
				temporarily or permanently disabled, a witness signs the certificate at the
				bottom of the application. The witness certificate is located below the
				acknowledgement and begins with the words "I HEREBY CERTIFY." An
				acknowledgement does not need to be completed on the application of a voter who
				is voting an absentee ballot because of a temporary or permanent
				disability.
c) The Federal Post
				Card Application (FPCA), used by military and overseas voters (UOCAVA), does
				not require an acknowledgement or a witness signature at all.
d) Excluding military and overseas voters (no
				acknowledgement or witness signature required) and voters who are voting
				absentee because of a temporary or permanent disability (witness signature only
				required), all absentee ballot applications must be acknowledged by the Circuit
				Clerk, a deputy clerk or "someone authorized to administer oaths," such as a
				notary public.
i) If the application is not
				acknowledged as required by law or signed by a witness (for absentee voters who
				are temporarily or permanently disabled only), mark the absentee ballot
				envelope "REJECTED" and write the reason for the rejection on the
				envelope.
5)
				Ensure the absentee ballot envelope is signed by the voter across the flap of
				the envelope.
a) If the ballot envelope is not
				signed by the voter across the flap of the envelope, mark the envelope
				"REJECTED" and write the reason for the rejection on the envelope.
b) EXCEPTION: The envelope of an absentee
				ballot returned by a military or overseas (UOCAVA) voter by e-mail or fax will
				not be signed by the voter. These ballots are received by the Circuit Clerk's
				Office, placed in an envelope by the Circuit Clerk or a deputy clerk and marked
				to indicate the ballot is a UOCAVA (military or overseas) voter. A military or
				overseas (UOCAVA) absentee ballot must not be rejected for this
				reason.
6) Ensure the
				absentee ballot envelope is acknowledged or witnessed as required by law, and
				the witness signed across the flap of the envelope.
a) For voters who vote an absentee ballot in
				the Circuit Clerk's Office, the Circuit Clerk or a deputy clerk will
				acknowledge the voter's signature on the absentee envelope by signing across
				the flap of the envelope.
b) For
				voters who are temporarily or permanently disabled, a witness to the voter's
				signature signs the certificate by signing across the flap of the envelope. An
				acknowledgement does not need to be completed on the absentee ballot envelope
				of a voter who is temporarily or permanently disabled.
c) The absentee ballots of military and
				overseas (UOCAVA) voters who return their ballots by e-mail or fax to the
				Circuit Clerk's Office are placed in an absentee ballot envelope by the Circuit
				Clerk or deputy clerk and marked to indicate the ballot is that of a military
				or overseas (UOCAVA) voter.
d)
				Excluding military and overseas (UOCAVA) voters and voters who are voting by
				absentee because of a temporary or permanent disability, all absentee ballot
				envelopes must be acknowledged by the Circuit Clerk, a deputy clerk of "someone
				authorized to administer oaths," such as a notary public.
i) If the envelope is not acknowledged as
				required by law or signed by a witness (for absentee voters who are temporarily
				or permanently disabled only), mark the envelope "REJECTED" and write the
				reason for the rejection on the envelope.
7) Compare the voter's signature on the
				absentee ballot application to the voter's signature across the flap of the
				absentee ballot envelope.
a) If the signatures
				are clearly not the same (beyond any doubt), mark the absentee ballot envelope
				"REJECTED", write the reason for the rejection on the envelope, and process
				pursuant to Rules
				4.1 and 4.2.
8) Check the BP-001 to ensure the absentee
				voter is still a qualified elector of the county and precinct associated with
				the absentee ballot.
9) If the
				absentee voter is listed on the BP-001 as no longer being a qualified voter,
				(voter is listed on the Voided ballots pages of BP-001) mark the absentee
				ballot envelope "REJECTED" and write the reason for the rejection on the
				envelope.
10) Provide the poll
				watchers the opportunity to challenge every absentee ballot in the same manner
				and for the same reasons any other voter may be challenged, and take immediate
				action.
11) If everything is in
				order, mark the UNOPENED absentee ballot envelope "ACCEPTED."
12) Mark whether the ballot was Accepted or
				Rejected on the BP-001 provided by the officials in charge of the
				election.