HB 163 Mississippi House · 2025 Regular Session

Absentee ballot; provide process to cure if signatures on application and envelope do not correspond.

HB 163 allows Mississippi absentee voters to correct signature mismatches on mail-in ballots. If a voter’s application signature doesn’t match the envelope signature, the registrar must notify them within one business day after the election and provide a cure form. Voters have until 12:00 p.m. on the fifth business day after the election to fix the issue via email, fax, or mail. This process applies only to mail-in absentee ballots, not in-person submissions, and prevents automatic rejection for signature discrepancies that can be corrected.
Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
House Passage
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 7, 2025 Last action Mar 4, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

As Introduced Current version · 6 edits
MODERATE
This bill establishes a new 'cure' process for absentee ballots rejected due to signature mismatches between the application and envelope. Previously rejected ballots could now be reviewed and accepted if the voter provides a corrected signature within five business days after the election, with notification sent via phone, email, or mail.
Scope change
The bill expands eligibility for absentee ballots by creating a remediation process for signature discrepancies that previously resulted in automatic rejection.
REQUIREMENT

New requirement for registrars to notify voters within one business day when their absentee ballot is tentatively rejected due to signature mismatch.

Requires the Secretary of State to prescribe rules and forms for the notice and absentee cure process.

TIMELINE

Establishes a five-business-day window after the election for voters to cure signature deficiencies, with a hard deadline of 12:00 p.m. on the fifth business day.

Added Section 3 establishing July 1, 2025 as the effective date for the new provisions.

ENFORCEMENT

Changed notification method priority to telephone first, then email or facsimile, with first-class mail as backup if electronic contact is unavailable.

DEFINITION

Clarifies that signature portions extending outside the designated box area should not be grounds for ballot rejection.

Floor votes · House Feb 5, 2025

How they voted

1180
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 119
Feb 5, 2025
D Democratic39
38 Yea 1
97% Yea
I Independent2
2 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican78
78 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
7
Key actions
3
Committee
3
Amendments
1
Feb 14, 2025
Committee
Referred To Elections
upper
Feb 7, 2025
Introduced
Transmitted To Senate
lower
Feb 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed As Amended
lower
Feb 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amended
lower
Jan 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass As Amended
lower
Jan 10, 2025
Committee
Referred To Apportionment and Elections
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Noah Sanford
Noah Sanford
RRepublican
MS
90