AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 23-15-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON WHO IS OTHERWISE A QUALIFIED ELECTOR AND HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF VOTE FRAUD, OF ANY CRIME LISTED IN SECTION 241, MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890, OR OF ANY CRIME INTERPRETED AS DISENFRANCHISING IN LATER ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINIONS, SHALL HAVE HIS OR HER RIGHT TO VOTE SUSPENDED UPON CONVICTION BUT SHALL HAVE HIS OR HER RIGHT TO VOTE AUTOMATICALLY RESTORED ONCE HE OR SHE HAS SATISFIED ALL OF THE SENTENCING REQUIREMENTS OF THE CONVICTION; TO AMEND SECTIONS 23-15-19, 23-15-125, 23-15-151, 23-15-153 AND 23-15-165, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 97-39-3 AND 99-19-37, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; TO AMEND SECTION 13-5-1 AND 13-5-8, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT ANY PERSON WHO HAS BEEN EXCLUDED FROM THE MASTER LIST FOR JURY SERVICE BECAUSE HE OR SHE IS OTHERWISE A QUALIFIED ELECTOR BUT HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF VOTE FRAUD, OF ANY CRIME LISTED IN SECTION 241, MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890, OR OF ANY CRIME INTERPRETED AS DISENFRANCHISING IN LATER ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINIONS, SHALL HAVE HIS OR HER NAME REINSTATED TO THE MASTER LIST AUTOMATICALLY ONCE HE OR SHE HAS SATISFIED ALL OF THE SENTENCING REQUIREMENTS OF THE CONVICTION; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 13-5-4, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
House Bill 789 revises Mississippi’s election and jury-qualification laws to create an automatic restoration process for people convicted of vote fraud or other constitutionally disenfranchising crimes once they have satisfied all sentencing requirements. Under current law, such convictions can remove a person from the voter rolls and bar voting until rights are restored through existing procedures; this bill would suspend voting rights upon conviction but restore them automatically when the sentence is fully completed. It also directs county election officials and the Secretary of State’s statewide voter system to update voter rolls, pollbooks, and related records to reflect both the suspension and the automatic restoration of rights.
The bill also makes parallel changes to jury service rules. A person excluded from the master jury list because of one of the covered disenfranchising convictions would have his or her name automatically reinstated once voting rights are restored and all sentencing requirements are satisfied. The measure further conforms several election-administration statutes to the new restoration rule, while bringing forward related provisions on dueling disqualification and military-based suffrage restoration for possible amendment. The act would take effect July 1, 2026.
HB789 would amend multiple sections of the Mississippi Code governing voter eligibility, voter roll maintenance, pollbooks, and jury list administration. It changes the legal effect of certain convictions from a permanent or open-ended disqualification to a temporary suspension of voting rights that ends automatically upon completion of all sentencing requirements, and it requires the Statewide Elections Management System, county voter rolls, and pollbooks to be updated accordingly. It also requires automatic reinstatement to the jury master list for affected persons once their sentencing obligations are complete, thereby linking jury eligibility to restored elector status for these offenses.
The bill’s caption and text suggest a reform-oriented approach focused on automatic restoration of civic rights after sentence completion, which is generally consistent with a rights-restoration or reentry policy. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate, support, or opposition in the available materials. Based on the bill language alone, the measure appears designed to simplify administration and reduce the need for individualized restoration processes.
The main point of contention is likely to be the scope of the automatic restoration rule: it applies not only to vote fraud but also to crimes listed in Section 241 of the Mississippi Constitution and to crimes later interpreted by Attorney General opinions as disenfranchising. Supporters may view the bill as a clear, automatic, and administratively efficient restoration mechanism, while critics may object to restoring voting and jury eligibility without a separate review process or may question the breadth of the covered offenses. Another possible issue is the reliance on Attorney General interpretations to define disenfranchising crimes, which could create uncertainty about the exact offenses covered.