Suffrage; restore to Jillinda Bateman of Amite County.
Summary
House Bill 4000 is a private suffrage restoration bill that would restore the right to vote to Jilinda Leggett-Bateman of Amite County, Mississippi. The bill states that she lost her voting rights because of a 2011 fraud conviction and that she completed her probation in 2013. It further recites the Legislature’s finding that she has since lived as a law-abiding and honorable citizen.
The measure is narrowly tailored to one individual and does not create a general change to Mississippi’s voting-rights or felony disenfranchisement laws. If enacted, it would remove Leggett-Bateman’s disqualification as an elector and immediately restore her suffrage rights upon passage.
Impact
HB4000 would amend Mississippi law only as applied to Jilinda Leggett-Bateman by restoring her right of suffrage after a disqualifying fraud conviction. It does not alter the broader statutory framework governing disenfranchisement, probation, or restoration of voting rights for other individuals, and it has no general effect on election administration beyond this specific restoration.
Sentiment
The available record suggests the bill is straightforward and noncontroversial in presentation, with no recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials. The bill’s language is affirmative and individualized, emphasizing rehabilitation and lawful conduct after completion of probation. Because there are no transcripts or voting results, there is no documented opposition or support beyond the bill’s introduction.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. In bills of this type, the only likely issue is the Legislature’s case-by-case exercise of discretion to restore voting rights to a person convicted of a disqualifying offense, but no member objections, procedural disputes, or competing views are recorded here.