Early voting; require period of no less than 21 days before each election.

HB 1426 would require all Mississippi elections - including primaries, general elections, runoffs, and municipal contests - to offer at least 21 days of early voting, starting no earlier than 21 days before the election and ending at 5 p.m. on the Saturday before election day. It mandates that early voting occur at county election offices during regular business hours (with extended hours the last two Saturdays), requires posting notice of voting locations in three public places eight days in advance, and ensures early votes are counted simultaneously with election-day votes. The bill affects all registered voters in Mississippi by expanding access to early voting for all election types and standardizing procedures for voter identification and ballot handling during this period. It also requires additional early voting locations based on population size (one per 30,000 county voters or 10,000 municipal voters).