HB 293 Mississippi House · 2025 Regular Session

Congressional primaries; change time for holding in years without presidential election.

HB 293 moves Mississippi's congressional primaries from the first Tuesday in June to the second Tuesday in March in years without a presidential election. This affects candidates running for U.S. House seats in Mississippi during non-presidential election cycles. The bill amends Mississippi Code Sections 23-15-1031 (primary timing) and 23-15-299 (qualification deadlines) to align these dates. The change streamlines election scheduling without altering voter eligibility or campaign rules.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2025
House Passage
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
Signed into Law
Apr 2025
Introduced Feb 10, 2025 Signed Apr 17, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Passed the lower Current version · 6 edits
MODERATE
This bill amends Mississippi election laws to change primary election dates for congressional representatives in non-presidential election years from June to March, adjusts qualification deadlines from January 15 to March 1 for non-presidential years, and adds new requirements for petition signatures and fees for independent candidates. The changes aim to align Mississippi's election calendar with federal standards and modernize candidate qualification processes.
Scope change
The bill expands applicability by adding a new section (23-15-359) that establishes detailed petition signature requirements and fee structures for independent and special election candidates across various office levels, which did not previously exist in this form.
TIMELINE

Primary election dates for congressional representatives in non-presidential election years changed from the first Tuesday in June to the second Tuesday in March

Qualification deadline for candidates in non-presidential election years changed from January 15 to March 1

Qualification deadline for candidates in presidential election years changed from 60 days before primary to 75 days before primary

REQUIREMENT

New section establishes specific petition signature requirements for independent candidates based on office level, ranging from 1,000 signatures for statewide offices to 15 for supervisor districts

New $2,500 fee requirement for independent or party nominees seeking the U.S. President office

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting and section numbering changes including renumbering from Section 5 to Section 6 for codification purposes

Floor votes · Senate Mar 5, 2025 · House Feb 5, 2025

How they voted

510
Passed
Total votes 51
Mar 5, 2025
D Democratic16
16 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican35
35 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
19
Key actions
9
Committee
6
Amendments
2
Apr 17, 2025
Signed into law
Approved by Governor
executive
Apr 1, 2025
Lower · Passed
Conference Report Adopted
lower
Mar 31, 2025
Lower · Passed
Conference Report Filed
lower
Mar 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed As Amended
upper
Mar 5, 2025
Upper · Passed
Amended
upper
Feb 27, 2025
Upper · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass As Amended
upper
Feb 14, 2025
Committee
Referred To Elections
upper
Feb 10, 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
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