Mississippi could soon become one of the final states to implement no-excuse early in-person voting after the Senate decided Tuesday to approve a bill that would give residents a chance to cast ballots up to 15 days before an election.
Sen. Jeremy England’s legislation, called the “In-Person Early Voting Act,” would allow registered electors to vote at their local circuit clerk’s office without an excuse in the days leading up to the polls opening. The Republican from Vancleave argued during floor discussions that voters deserve the chance to cast a ballot early without having to issue a reason or justification as to why they cannot exercise their right on Election Day.
“We are doing this to allow for our hardworking Mississippians that may have a difficult time getting to the polling place on Election Day,” England said. “Other states recognize that convenience is needed when voting.”
If the bill is enacted into law, it will bring an end to Mississippi’s 45-day in-person absentee voting period, which requires people to fall into the state’s set of categories allowing them to cast a ballot early. Current criteria include being over 65 years old or disabled, or providing an “excuse” such as being out of town on Election Day.
Rules surrounding the process of voting would remain the same, including having to have an approved photo identification present to be able to cast a ballot.
The bill was set met by some concerns as Sen. Jeff Tate, R-Meridian, asserted early voting could lead to litigation, referencing the 2020 presidential election that Republican President Donald Trump maintains was “stolen” from him, and is unwanted by over half of circuit clerk’s offices.
“When we had our November 2020 elections, there were question marks about a lot of different states. I’m glad Mississippi was not one of them,” Tate said. “I have reached out to all circuit clerks in the state. 48 of them do not want early voting. It is not feasible for them.”
Tate presented an amendment that would have killed England’s bill and revert to the current absentee laws. It easily died on the floor. England’s version was then passed 40-11 with bipartisan support.
The “In-Person Early Voting Act” will now head to the House of Representatives, where a similar bill filed by England and overwhelmingly passed by the Senate last year was killed in committee. England said early discussions with cross-chamber leadership have been positive, giving him the impression that this could be the year Mississippi joins 47 other states with some form of no-excuse early voting.
“I do believe the House will take this up,” he said. “I do think you’re going to see some movement on this that we didn’t last year.”
Even if the House does approve the measure, another hurdle will be Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who recently posted on social media that he is against no-excuse early voting and “doesn’t care how many other states get it wrong.” Mississippi, Alabama, and New Hampshire are the only states that do not have no-excuse absentee voting or early voting.
