SB 2657 Mississippi Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Election commissioners; allow discretionary election day pay raises for.

SB 2657 allows Mississippi county boards of supervisors to, at their discretion, pay election commissioners an extra $35 per day for work performed on election day. This amendment to existing law adds a voluntary $35 daily payment on top of the standard $110 per day election commissioner pay rate. The bill directly affects election commissioners in all Mississippi counties, giving local boards flexibility to provide additional compensation. It does not require counties to offer this pay increase, making it a discretionary funding option for election day work. The policy change modifies Section 23-15-153 of the Mississippi Code to include this optional payment provision.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Feb 2025

House Passage

Mar 2025

Signed into Law

Mar 2025

Introduced Feb 7, 2025 Signed Mar 12, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Passed the upper → Current version · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill title was updated to reflect its current status as sent to the Governor, indicating it has passed the Senate and is awaiting final action. No substantive policy changes were made to the bill's content; the modification is purely procedural and administrative.

TECHNICAL

The bill's status description was changed from 'As Passed the Senate' to 'As Sent to Governor' to accurately reflect its legislative progress.

As Introduced → As Passed the upper · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Mississippi election law to allow county boards of supervisors to optionally pay election commissioners an additional $35 per day on Election Day, on top of the existing $110 per diem. The amendment also expands the number of allowable work days for election commissioners based on county population size, adds new provisions for special election and runoff pay, and introduces a formal certification form with perjury penalties to verify hours worked.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of compensation eligibility by adding an optional discretionary payment for Election Day work and increasing the maximum allowable work days for election commissioners in counties of all population sizes.

FISCAL

Added a new optional $35 per diem payment that county boards of supervisors may choose to pay election commissioners for work performed on Election Day, in addition to the standard $110 per diem.

Increased the maximum allowable work days for election commissioners across all county population tiers, ranging from 50 days for small counties to 240 days for large counties.

Added specific compensation provisions for special elections ($110 per diem, up to 10 days) and runoff elections ($110 per diem, up to 14 days).

Added mileage reimbursement for election commissioners at federal employee rates for official travel on Election Day.

REQUIREMENT

Requires election commissioners to sign a formal per diem claim form under oath with penalties of perjury for false claims, including detailed hours worked and compensation requested.

ENFORCEMENT

Establishes a formal contest process allowing any person to challenge the accuracy of a commissioner's certification, with provisions for hearings, subpoenas, and attorney's fees for successful contestors.

ELIGIBILITY

Requires election commissioners to have completed required elections seminar instruction and received certification from the Secretary of State to receive any compensation under this section.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 6, 2025 · House Mar 6, 2025

How they voted

51–0

Passed

Total votes 51

Feb 6, 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

Key actions

Committee

Mar 12, 2025

Signed into law

Approved by Governor

executive

Mar 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

Feb 27, 2025

Lower · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass

lower

Feb 10, 2025

Committee

Referred To Apportionment and Elections

lower

Feb 7, 2025

Introduced

Transmitted To House

upper

Feb 6, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

Jan 30, 2025

Upper · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass

upper

Jan 20, 2025

Committee

Referred To Elections

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors