Bill Text: MS HB1749 | 2026 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: MS Supreme Court; bring forward sections that regulate.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Failed) 2026-03-30 - Died In Conference [HB1749 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-HB1749-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representative Horan
House Bill 1749
(As Passed the House)
AN ACT TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 9-3-1, 9-3-3, 9-3-5, 9-3-6, 9-3-7, 9-3-9, 9-3-11, 9-3-12, 9-3-13, 9-3-14, 9-3-15, 9-3-17, 9-3-19, 9-3-21, 9-3-23, 9-3-25, 9-3-27, 9-3-29, 9-3-31, 9-3-37, 9-3-39, 23-15-977, 23-15-991, 23-15-993, 23-15-994, 23-15-995, 23-15-607, 23-15-849 AND 23-15-853, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH REGULATE THE JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT ELECTIONS, ELECTION BOUNDARIES, TERM OF OFFICE AND VACANCIES, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT TO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 9-3-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-1. The state shall be divided into three (3) Supreme Court districts, as follows, to wit:
The counties of Bolivar, Claiborne, Copiah, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jefferson, Kemper, Lauderdale, Leake, Madison, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Sunflower, Warren, Washington and Yazoo shall constitute the First District.
The counties of Adams, Amite, Clarke, Covington, Forrest, Franklin, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marion, Pearl River, Perry, Pike, Simpson, Smith, Stone, Walthall, Wayne, and Wilkinson shall constitute the Second District.
The counties of Alcorn, Attala, Benton, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Clay, Coahoma, DeSoto, Grenada, Itawamba, Lafayette, Lee, Leflore, Lowndes, Marshall, Monroe, Montgomery, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Tunica, Union, Webster, Winston and Yalobusha, shall constitute the Third District.
SECTION 2. Section 9-3-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-3. A term of the supreme court shall be held twice in each year in the city of Jackson, to be styled the Supreme Court; and the terms shall commence the second Monday of September and the first Monday of March, and the court shall be kept open for the discharge of business for at least nine months of every year if the business therein should require.
SECTION 3. Section 9-3-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-5. If, at the commencement of any regular term, a quorum of the judges shall not be present, it shall be the duty of the clerk to adjourn the court from day to day, by an entry of the fact on the minute-book, for twelve juridical days; and if a quorum of the judges shall not appear by the thirteenth day, and if there should not be a clerk, or he shall not be in attendance, any of the judges of the court in attendance may adjourn it from day to day for twelve juridical days, but if two of the judges shall so order, the court shall stand adjourned to a later day, and notice of the order shall be published, as for a special term. And if there be a failure of the term, it shall be the duty of the judges, or any two of them, to order a special term, at such time as they may appoint, notice of which shall be published in a newspaper published in the city of Jackson, if there be one, and, if not, in some newspaper published at some other place in the state, for three weeks. And after a term has regularly commenced, the court, or any of the judges, may adjourn the court from day to day or from time to time, as may be necessary and proper; and there shall not be a discontinuance of any suit, process, matter, or thing, returned or pending in the court, because a sufficient number of judges shall not attend at the commencement of the term, or at any other day to which the court may have been adjourned; and in case a quorum of judges should not be present at any day to which the court may have been adjourned during a term, a further adjournment may be ordered.
SECTION 4. Section 9-3-6, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-6. (1) The Supreme Court shall have the authority to request any Supreme Court justice who has retired from the court, except by defeat at the polls, to return to active service on an emergency basis.
(2) It shall be the duty of such recalled judge, who consents to serve, to assist the court in the disposition of causes pending in the court and in the determination of causes presented to the court, under such rules and regulations as the Supreme Court may adopt. However, such judge shall not be entitled to vote in the decision of any case heard by the Supreme Court.
(3) No such recalled judge may, during any fiscal year, receive compensation in excess of twenty-five percent (25%) of the current salary in effect for an associate justice of the Supreme Court. While serving under this section, such judge shall be compensated at the monthly rate of a regular Supreme Court justice.
(4) If such recalled judge is receiving retirement benefits by virtue of the provisions of the Public Employees' Retirement Law of 1952, appearing as Section 25-11-1 through Section 25-11-139, Mississippi Code of 1972, such benefits shall not be reduced in any sum whatsoever because of such service, nor shall any sum be deducted as contributions toward retirement under said act.
(5) The Supreme Court may, by order spread upon its minutes, give a name or title to the judicial positions created by the provisions of this section.
SECTION 5. Section 9-3-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-7. The cost of publishing the notices by order of the judges shall be paid out of the appropriation for the judicial department, and the auditor shall issue a warrant therefor on the order of the supreme court allowing the account for making the publication.
SECTION 6. Section 9-3-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-9. The Supreme Court shall have such jurisdiction as properly belongs to a court of appeals, and shall hear and determine all manner of pleas, complaints, motions, causes, and controversies, civil and criminal, which are now pending therein, or which may be brought before it, and which shall be cognizable in said court; but a cause shall not be removed into said court until after final judgment in the court below, except as provided by Section 9-4-3, or in cases particularly provided for by law; and the Supreme Court may grant new trials and correct errors of the circuit court in granting or refusing the same.
Provided, however, the Supreme Court shall have such original and appellate jurisdiction as may be otherwise provided by law in cases and proceedings for modification of any rates charged or sought to be charged to the public by any public utility.
SECTION 7. Section 9-3-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-11. The judge of the Supreme Court who has been for the longest time continuously a member of the court shall be chief justice; and, the two (2) judges of the supreme court who have served continuously for the next longest time shall be presiding justices. In case of the absence of the chief justice, the presiding justice who has been for the longest time continuously a member shall preside. In the event that two (2) or more judges of the Supreme Court shall have served as members of the Supreme Court for equal periods of time, then seniority shall be determined according to the length of time that such judges shall have been members of the Mississippi State Bar.
SECTION 8. Section 9-3-12, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-12. (1) Any judge of the Mississippi Supreme Court who has reached the age of sixty-eight (68) years, and who resigns as hereafter provided, may retire from active service as Chief, Presiding, or Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by forwarding a written resignation to the Governor, with a copy to the Supreme Court. Any vacancy on the Supreme Court shall be filled as provided by law. Such judge shall perform for the judges of the Supreme Court such service as the court may designate from time to time. There shall be no more than three (3) such judges serving at any one (1) time and each judge shall serve for a term equal to the balance of the term for which he was last elected by popular vote as a Supreme Court judge; provided, however, no such judge shall serve for a longer period than four (4) years. Such judge shall receive a salary equivalent to two-thirds (2/3) of the salary of an associate justice.
(2) During his tenure, such judge shall continue to be deemed an official elected by popular vote for the remainder of the term to which he was elected by popular vote as a judge of the Supreme Court within the meaning of subsection (f) of Section 25-11-111 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, but such judge shall not be entitled to vote as to the decision of any case heard by the Supreme Court.
(3) The provisions of this section shall not in any manner be construed to require any judge to resign, or to alter, limit or modify the privileges of a Supreme Court judge to resign from active service and to retire in the manner provided by law, or the privilege of a Supreme Court judge who so retires to receive full retirement benefits in the manner provided by law. However, no such judge who resigns under the provisions of this section shall receive retirement benefits while serving under the provisions of this section.
(4) The Supreme Court may, by order spread upon its minutes, give a name or title to the judicial positions created by the provisions of this section.
SECTION 9. Section 9-3-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-13. The clerk of the Supreme Court, before he enters on the discharge of the duties of his office, shall take the oath prescribed in the Constitution, and enter into bond with at least two sufficient sureties, to be approved by the court, or in vacation by two of the judges, payable to the state in the penalty of Five Thousand Dollars, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his office. The bond shall be recorded in the minutes of the court, and, immediately thereafter deposited and filed in the Office of the Secretary of State.
SECTION 10. Section 9-3-14, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-14. The clerk of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by majority vote of the Supreme Court and shall serve at the pleasure of the court.
SECTION 11. Section 9-3-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-15. The clerk of the Supreme Court shall have power, with the approbation of the court, or of the judges in vacation, to appoint one or more deputies, who shall take the oath of office, and who thereupon shall have power to do and perform all the acts and duties which their principal may lawfully do; such approval, when given by the judges in vacation, shall be in writing, and shall be entered on the minutes of the court at the next term.
SECTION 12. Section 9-3-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-17. The clerk shall carefully keep a minute of the proceedings of the court for each day, drawn up at large in a record book to be kept by him for that purpose; he shall seasonably record the judgments, decrees, orders, and decisions of the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court; he shall safely keep all records, files, books and papers committed to his charge, and also all presses and furniture belonging to his office, and deliver such records, files, books, papers, presses and furniture to his successor in office; and in case of refusal or failure to deliver whatever belongs to his office to his successor, his bond may be put in suit by the Attorney General; he shall prepare for any person demanding the same a certified copy of any paper, record, decree, judgment, or entry on file in his office, proper to be certified, for the fees prescribed by law. The transcript filed in the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, the process in each case, and the judgment or decree of the court thereon, shall be the final record in the cause, and certified as such by the clerk whenever an exemplification of the judgment or decree of the court may be required.
SECTION 13. Section 9-3-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-19. The clerk of the Supreme Court shall make out and keep a docket of civil cases pending in or which may be brought to the court and place thereon all such cases in the order in which they may have been or may be filed in his office, irrespective of districts.
SECTION 14. Section 9-3-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-21. The clerk shall keep a docket of criminal cases, on which he shall enter all criminal cases brought before the court in the order in which they may be sent up or certified; and he shall keep such other dockets as may be deemed proper by the court. Provided, however, that all cases brought before the court in which the defendant has been sentenced to suffer the death penalty shall be preference cases, and shall be set down for hearing and submission not later than sixty (60) days after the filing of the transcript of the record in the office of the clerk of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, by order upon its minutes, for good cause shown and to prevent injustice, may extend the time for hearing or submission in any case in which the defendant has been sentenced to suffer the death penalty.
SECTION 15. Section 9-3-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-23. The Supreme Court shall make allowance to the clerk for all needful sums for supplying the office with necessary books, stationery, furniture, and presses for preserving the records and for the safe-keeping of the books and papers belonging to the office. The allowance, being certified to the auditor of public accounts by any of the judges, shall be paid out of the appropriation for the judicial department.
SECTION 16. Section 9-3-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-25. The Supreme Court of the state of Mississippi is authorized to require its clerk, by order to that effect entered on its minutes, to destroy the transcript of the record, briefs of counsel, and related documents in any case appealed to it from a lower court after the expiration of five years from the rendition of the final judgment in the case by the Supreme Court. Before destroying such records the clerk of the supreme court shall advise the director of the department of archives and history of the contemplated destruction of the records, and, if the director of the department of archives and history shall so desire, the records, or such of them as he may desire, shall not be destroyed, but shall be immediately delivered to him for preservation in his office.
The transcripts of all existing records, briefs of counsel, and all other related documents, which the said clerk is not authorized to destroy, shall be collected by said clerk, under the direction of the Supreme Court, shall be cleaned, organized, and placed in shelves or files with adequate identifications of such records, and shall be maintained by the clerk in a place or places accessible to lawyers, judges and the general public, and in a manner best suited to their preservation. The capitol commission shall provide additional adequate and proper space for the storage of all such records, which in the opinion of the supreme court cannot be stored conveniently and efficiently in the clerk's record storage room of the new capitol adjoining the courtroom.
SECTION 17. Section 9-3-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-27. The judges of the Supreme Court are authorized and empowered to employ such number of secretaries and research assistants to said court as the court may deem necessary for its efficient operation, provided, that each of said research assistants herein authorized shall be qualified members of The Mississippi State Bar, or qualified for admission thereto under the laws of this state. They shall each receive a salary to be fixed by the judges of the Supreme Court, through an order entered on the minutes of said court, within the appropriation for the payment of such salaries in the Supreme Court. Said secretaries and research assistants, upon entering into the discharge of their duties, shall take an oath to be administered by one (1)of the judges of said court that they will faithfully discharge the duties of said office and that they will not disclose the secrets or deliberations of the court, and they shall be removed at the pleasure of the court. Said secretaries and assistants shall be paid on a certificate by the Chief Justice or by a justice appointed by him to so act to the Auditor of Public Accounts, who shall issue his warrant for the amount or amounts so certified to the State Treasurer.
SECTION 18. Section 9-3-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-29. The Supreme Court may, by order entered on its minutes, appoint a marshal and such deputy marshals as the court may deem necessary not to exceed three (3), who shall hold their places during the pleasure of the court, and shall attend its sessions, and perform all the duties of a sheriff and deputies attending court, and shall obey all lawful orders of the court. Said marshal and deputy marshals shall each receive a salary to be fixed by the judges of the Supreme Court, through an order entered on the minutes of said court, within its appropriation. They shall be paid on a certificate by the chief justice, or by a justice appointed by him to so act, to the Auditor of Public Accounts, who shall issue his warrant for the amount or amounts so certified to the State Treasurer.
SECTION 19. Section 9-3-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-31. The Supreme Court may at any time require the sheriff of Hinds county, with a competent number of deputies, to attend and perform all lawful orders of the court; and, for any failure in this, after notice of the requirement by the court, the sheriff may be punished by the court for a contempt; and for attending the court he shall be allowed two dollars a day for each person so attending, to be paid as the marshal and porter are paid. And at all times, when proper, the court shall dispense with the services of a marshal and require the said sheriff to perform all its duties.
SECTION 20. Section 9-3-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-37. The supreme court may try and determine all issues of fact which may arise out of any appeal before it and be necessary to the disposition thereof, and, to this end, may, by order in each case, prescribe in what way evidence may be produced before it on the issue.
SECTION 21. Section 9-3-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
9-3-39. The Supreme Court shall have power to make such rules in respect to making out records for said court and for the Court of Appeals as may be expedient, and may prescribe the form and manner in which records shall be prepared for appeal, and cause the same to be bound, but shall not require any record to be printed; and may enforce its rules by proper fines or by refusal to allow costs to be taxed to the clerks below on records not made out according to the rules, or by refusing to permit such records to be filed. And the court may prescribe the mode of pleading in causes therein, civil and criminal, and the manner of trying the same; and may also establish such rules of practice and proceedings therein as may be deemed necessary and proper for certainty and dispatch of business, and may dismiss causes for noncompliance with any of the rules; but such rules must be consistent with law.
SECTION 22. Section 23-15-977, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
23-15-977. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, all candidates for judicial office as defined in Section 23-15-975 of this subarticle shall file their intent to be a candidate with the proper officials and pay the proper assessment by not later than 5:00 p.m. on February 1 of the year in which the general election for the judicial office is held. If February 1 occurs on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, candidates shall file their intent to be a candidate and pay the proper assessment by 5:00 p.m. on the business day immediately following the Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. Candidates shall pay to the proper officials the following amounts:
(a) Candidates for Supreme Court justice and Court of Appeals judge, the sum of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00).
(b) Candidates for circuit judge and chancellor, the sum of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
(c) Candidates for county judge and family court judge, the sum of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
(d) Candidates for justice court judge, the sum of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
Candidates for judicial office may not file their intent to be a candidate and pay the proper assessment before January 1 of the year in which the election for the judicial office is held.
(2) Candidates for judicial offices listed in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of this section shall file their intent to be a candidate with, and pay the proper assessment made pursuant to subsection (1) of this section to, the State Board of Election Commissioners.
(3) Candidates for judicial offices listed in paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1) of this section shall file their intent to be a candidate with, and pay the proper assessment made pursuant to subsection (1) of this section to, the circuit clerk of the proper county. The circuit clerk shall notify the county election commissioners of all persons who have filed their intent to be a candidate with, and paid the proper assessment to, such clerk. The notification shall occur within two (2) business days and shall contain all necessary information.
(4) If only one (1) person files his or her intent to be a candidate for a judicial office and that person later dies, resigns or is otherwise disqualified from holding the judicial office after the deadline provided for in subsection (1) of this section but more than seventy (70) days before the date of the general election, the Governor, upon notification of the death, resignation or disqualification of the person, shall issue a proclamation authorizing candidates to file their intent to be a candidate for that judicial office for a period of not less than seven (7) nor more than ten (10) days from the date of the proclamation.
(5) If only one (1) person qualifies as a candidate for a judicial office and that person later dies, resigns or is otherwise disqualified from holding the judicial office within seventy (70) days before the date of the general election, the judicial office shall be considered vacant for the new term and the vacancy shall be filled as provided in by law.
SECTION 23. Section 23-15-991, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
23-15-991. The term of office of judges of the Supreme Court shall be eight (8) years. Concurrently with the regular election for representatives in Congress, held next preceding the expiration of the term of an incumbent, and likewise each eighth year thereafter, an election shall be held in the Supreme Court district from which such incumbent was elected at which there shall be elected a successor to the incumbent, whose term of office shall thereafter begin on the first Monday of January of the year in which the term of the incumbent he succeeds expires.
SECTION 24. Section 23-15-993, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
23-15-993. For the purpose of all elections, each of the nine (9) judgeships of the Supreme Court shall be considered a separate office. The three (3) offices in each of the three (3) Supreme Court districts shall be designated Position Number 1, Position Number 2 and Position Number 3, and in qualifying for office as a candidate for any office of judge of the Supreme Court each candidate shall state the position number of the office to which he aspires and the regular election ballots shall so indicate. In Supreme Court District Number 1: Position Number 1 shall be that office for which the term ends in January 1966; Position Number 2 shall be that office for which the term ends in January 1965; and Position Number 3 shall be that office for which the term ends in January 1969. In District Number 2: Position Number 1 shall be that office for which the term ends in January 1972; Position Number 2 shall be that office for which the term ends in January 1969; and Position Number 3 shall be for that office for which the term ends in January 1973. In District Number 3: Position Number 1 shall be that office for which the term ends in January 1969; Position Number 2 shall be that office for which the term ends in January 1969; and Position Number 3 shall be that office for which the term ends in January 1965.
SECTION 25. Section 23-15-994, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
23-15-994. Elections for the office of judge of the Court of Appeals shall be as prescribed in Section 9-4-1, et seq.
SECTION 26. Section 23-15-995, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
23-15-995. Except as may be otherwise provided by the provisions of Sections 23-15-974 through 23-15-985, the general laws for the election of state officers shall apply to and govern the election of judges of the Supreme Court.
SECTION 27. Section 23-15-607, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
23-15-607. (1) The election commissioners shall, within ten (10) days after an election for judges of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals, transmit to the Secretary of State, to be filed in his or her office, a statement of the whole number of votes given in their county, and the whole number of votes given in each precinct in their county, for each candidate for the Office of Judge of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals, and the Secretary of State shall immediately notify each member of the State Board of Election Commissioners in writing to assemble at his or her office on a day to be fixed by him or her, to be within ten (10) days after the receipt by him or her of such statement, and when assembled pursuant to such notice the State Board of Election Commissioners shall sum up the whole number of votes given for each candidate for judge of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals according to the total number of votes in each county for each candidate as certified to the Secretary of State, ascertain the person or persons to be elected; and thereupon all persons chosen to such office at the election shall be commissioned by the Governor; but if it appears that two (2) or more candidates for judge of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals standing highest on the list, and not elected, have an equal number of votes, the election shall be decided between the candidates having an equal number of votes by each candidate individually drawing one (1) of the two (2) sealed containers from an opaque bag, under the direction of the Governor and Secretary of State. The containers shall consist of a straw of conspicuous length, and the candidate drawing the container with the longer of the two (2) straws shall be declared the winner.
(2) The statements required by this section shall contain a certification, signed and dated by a majority of the election commissioners, which shall read as follows:
"We, the undersigned election commissioners, do hereby certify that this statement of the whole number of votes contain the official vote for the election reflected therein."
(3) The statements required by this section shall be transmitted to the Secretary of State on such forms and by such methods as may be required by rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of State.
SECTION 28. Section 23-15-849, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
23-15-849. (1) Vacancies in the office of circuit judge or chancellor shall be filled for the unexpired term by the qualified electors at the next regular special election occurring more than nine (9) months after the vacancy to be filled occurred, and the term of office of the person elected to fill a vacancy shall commence on the first Monday in January following the election. Upon the occurrence of a vacancy, the Governor shall appoint a qualified person from the district in which the vacancy exists to hold the office and discharge the duties thereof until the vacancy is filled by election as provided in this subsection.
(2) (a) If half or more than half of the term remains, vacancies in the office of justice of the Supreme Court or judge of the Court of Appeals shall be filled for the unexpired term by the qualified electors at the next regular election for state officers or for representatives in Congress occurring more than nine (9) months after the vacancy to be filled occurred, and the term of office of the person elected to fill a vacancy shall commence on the first Monday in January following the election. If less than half of the term remains, vacancies in the office of justice of the Supreme Court or judge of the Court of Appeals shall be filled for the remaining unexpired term solely by appointment as provided in this subsection.
(b) Upon occurrence of a vacancy, the Governor shall appoint a qualified person from the district in which the vacancy exists to hold the office and discharge the duties thereof as follows:
(i) If less than half of the term remains, the appointee shall serve until expiration of the term;
(ii) If half or more than half of the term remains, the appointee shall serve until the vacancy is filled by election as provided in subsection (1) of this section for judges of the circuit and chancery courts. Elections to fill vacancies in the office of justice of the Supreme Court or judge of the Court of Appeals shall be held, conducted, returned and the persons elected commissioned in accordance with the law governing regular elections for justices of the Supreme Court or judges of the Court of Appeals to the extent applicable.
SECTION 29. Section 23-15-853, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-853. (1) If a vacancy occurs in the representation in Congress, the vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term by a special election, to be ordered by the Governor, within one hundred five (105) days after the vacancy occurs, and held at a time fixed by his or her order, and which time shall be not less than one hundred five (105) days after the issuance of the order of the Governor, which shall be directed to the election commissioners of the several counties of the district, who shall, immediately on the receipt of the order, give notice of the election by publishing the same in a newspaper having a general circulation in the county and by posting the notice at the front door of the courthouse. The order shall also be directed to the State Board of Election Commissioners. The election shall be prepared for and conducted, and returns shall be made, in all respects as provided for a special election to fill vacancies.
(2) Candidates for the office in such an election must qualify with the Secretary of State by 5:00 p.m. not less than seventy-five (75) days before the date of the election. If the seventy-fifth day to qualify before an election falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the qualification submitted on the business day immediately following the Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday shall be accepted. The election commissioners shall have printed on the ballot in such special election the name of any candidate who shall have been requested to be a candidate for the office by a petition filed with the Secretary of State and personally signed by not less than one thousand (1,000) qualified electors of the district. The petition shall be filed by 5:00 p.m. not less than seventy-five (75) days before the date of the election. If the seventy-fifth day to file the petition before an election falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the petition filed on the business day immediately following the Sunday or legal holiday shall be accepted.
There shall be attached to each petition above provided for, upon the time of filing with the Secretary of State, a certificate from the appropriate registrar or registrars showing the number of qualified electors appearing upon each petition which the registrar shall furnish to the petitioner upon request.
SECTION 30. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026, and shall stand repealed on June 30, 2026.
