Applications for absentee ballots; require sheriffs and police chiefs to have available for certain inmates.

HB 1097 would have required Mississippi county sheriffs and municipal police chiefs to provide absentee ballot applications to incarcerated individuals who are registered voters and have not been convicted of a disenfranchising crime. The bill amended existing law to mandate that these applications be "readily available" within prisons and jails, making it easier for eligible inmates to request absentee ballots. This directly affects incarcerated Mississippi voters who meet the eligibility criteria under current law. The bill died in committee in February 2026 and never became law.