Bill Text: MS HB653 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Uninitialed ballot; prohibit from being counted and add counting of to definition of "vote fraud."
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2014-02-04 - Died In Committee [HB653 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2014-HB653-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2014 Regular Session
To: Apportionment and Elections
By: Representative Denny
House Bill 653
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-541, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THAT A BALLOT WITHOUT THE GENUINE INITIALS OF THE INITIALING MANAGER OR ALTERNATE INITIALING MANAGER SHALL NOT BE PLACED IN THE BALLOT BOX OR OTHERWISE COUNTED AS A VOTE; TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-547, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-753, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT ANY PERSON WHO FALSIFIES THE INITIALS OF AN INITIALING MANAGER OR DEPOSITS OR OTHERWISE COUNTS A BALLOT THAT DOES NOT HAVE THE INITIALS OF THE INITIALING MANAGER OR THE ALTERNATE INITIALING MANAGER SHALL BE GUILTY OF VOTE FRAUD; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 23-15-541, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
* * *
23-15-541. (1) At all
elections, the polls shall be opened at seven o'clock in the morning and be
kept open until seven o'clock in the evening and no longer. Upon the opening
of the polls, and not before, the managers of the election shall designate two
(2) of their number, other than the manager theretofore designated to receive
the blank ballots, who shall thereupon be known respectively as the initialing manager
and the alternate initialing manager. The alternate initialing manager, in the
absence of the initialing manager, shall perform all of the duties and
undertake all of the responsibilities of the initialing manager. When any
person entitled to vote shall appear to vote, the managers shall identify the
voter by requiring the voter to submit identification as required by Section 23-15-563,
and then the voter shall sign his name in a receipt book or booklet provided
for that purpose and to be used at that election only and said receipt book or
booklet shall be used in lieu of the list of voters who have voted formerly
made by the managers or clerks; whereupon and not before, the initialing
manager or, in his absence, the alternate initialing manager shall endorse his
initials on the back of an official blank ballot, prepared in accordance with
law, and at such place on the back of the ballot that the initials may be seen
after the ballot has been marked and folded, and when so endorsed he shall
deliver it to the voter, which ballot the voter shall mark in the manner
provided by law, which when done the voter shall deliver the ballot to the
initialing manager or, in his absence, to the alternate initialing manager, in
the presence of the others, and the manager shall see that the ballot so
delivered bears on the back thereof the genuine initials of the initialing
manager, or alternate initialing manager, and if so * * * the ballot shall be put
into the ballot box; and when so done one (1) of the managers or a duly
appointed clerk shall make the proper entry on the pollbook. If the ballot
does not bear the genuine initials of the initialing manager or alternate
initialing manager on the back thereof, such ballot shall not be put into the
ballot box or otherwise counted as a vote. If the voter is unable to write
his name on the receipt book, a manager or clerk shall note on the back of the
ballot that it was receipted for by his assistance.
(2) (a) A poll manager shall be authorized to allow a physically disabled person to vote curbside during the hours in which the polls are open as described in this section.
Where the managers of an election, exercising their sound discretion, determine that a physically disabled person has arrived at the polls in a motor vehicle to vote, two (2) or more managers shall carry the pollbook, the receipt book, and a ballot or voting device to the motor vehicle, and after determining whether the disabled person is a qualified elector as provided by law, shall allow the disabled elector to cast his or her ballot in secret. After the disabled elector casts his or her ballot, the managers shall mark the pollbook "voted" by the elector's name in the pollbook.
(b) If the ballot that is provided to the disabled elector is a paper ballot, the initialing manager shall initial the ballot as provided by law, and the disabled elector, after marking his or her ballot shall fold the ballot or place it in the ballot sleeve. The initialing manager or alternate initialing manager shall determine whether the initials on the ballot are genuine, and upon a determination that the initials are genuine, mark "voted" by the elector's name. The initialing manager or alternate initialing manager shall without delay place the ballot in the ballot box.
(c) If, while a voter is voting by curbside, there are less than three (3) managers immediately present within the polling place conducting an election or a political party primary, all voting at the polls shall stop until the managers conducting the curbside voting procedure return so that there are at least three (3) poll managers immediately present within the polling place to conduct the election or party primary at all times, and until a minimum of three (3) managers are present, the remaining poll manager or managers shall ensure the security of the ballot box, the voting devices, and any ballots and election materials.
SECTION 2. Section 23-15-547, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-547. (1) If the voter marks more names than there are persons to be elected to an office, or if for any reason it be impossible to determine from the ballot the voter's choice for any office voted for, his ballot so cast shall not be counted for that office. A ballot not provided in accordance with law shall not be deposited or counted.
(2) If the back of a ballot does not have the genuine initials of the initialing manager or alternate initialing manager as required in Section 23-15-541, such ballot shall not be put into the ballot box or otherwise counted as a vote.
SECTION 3. Section 23-15-753, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
23-15-753. (1) Any person who willfully, unlawfully and feloniously procures, seeks to procure, or seeks to influence the vote of any person voting by absentee ballot, by the payment of money, the promise of payment of money, or by the delivery of any other item of value or promise to give the voter any item of value, or by promising or giving the voter any favor or reward in an effort to influence his vote, or any person who aids, abets, assists, encourages, helps, or causes any person voting an absentee ballot to violate any provision of law pertaining to absentee voting, or any person who sells his vote for money, favor, or reward, has been paid or promised money, a reward, a favor or favors, or any other item of value, or any person who shall willfully swear falsely to any affidavit provided for in Sections 23-15-621 through 23-15-735, shall be guilty of the crime of "vote fraud" and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for no more than one (1) year, or by both fine and imprisonment, or by being sentenced to the State Penitentiary for not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years.
(2) It shall be unlawful
for any person who pays or compensates another person for assisting voters in
marking their absentee ballots to base the pay or compensation on the number of
absentee voters assisted or the number of absentee ballots cast by persons who
have received the assistance. Any person who violates this section, upon
conviction, shall * * *, be fined not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) nor
more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or imprisoned in the Penitentiary
not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years, or both.
(3) It shall be unlawful for any person to falsify the initials of an initialing manager or an alternate initialing manager on a ballot or place. It shall also be unlawful for any person to put a ballot that does not have the initials of the initialing manager or the alternate initialing manager into a ballot box or count a ballot that does not have the initials of the initialing manager or the alternate initialing manager. Any person who violates this subsection, shall be guilty of the crime of "vote fraud" and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or by imprisonment in the county jail for no more than one (1) year, or by both fine and imprisonment, or by being sentenced to the State Penitentiary for not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2014.
