ACLU of MS Urges DeSoto County Election Commissioners and Circuit Clerk to Allow Public Access to Counting of Affidavit Ballots

JACKSON, Miss – The ACLU of Mississippi has received several complaints from Mississippians who are being shut out of the affidavit ballot counting process across the state, a process that should be made public according to state law. We sent a letter urging election officials to take immediate steps to ensure the integrity of the election process.

The letter reads as follows:

RE: Public Access to Counting of Affidavit Ballots

Dear DeSoto County Election Commissioners and Circuit Clerk,

We have become aware that some election commissioners, including specifically in DeSoto County, may be unlawfully denying the public’s right to view all stages of the ballot counting process. Mississippi law clearly requires that every step of the counting process be conducted “in fair and full view of the voting public.” We ask that you take immediate steps to ensure that Mississippi law is followed and that public trust in elections is maintained.

Specifically, Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-581, which is titled “Public counting,” provides that:

During the holding of the election and the counting of the ballots, the whole proceedings shall be in fair and full view of the voting public, candidates or their duly authorized representatives and other authorized poll watchers, without unnecessary interference, delay or encroachment upon the good order of the duties delay or encroachment upon the good order of the duties and proceedings of the poll managers and other officers of the election. There shall be no unnecessary delay and no adjournment except as provided by law.

That provision, which is located within a sub-article of the Election Code titled “Affidavit Ballots and Challenged Ballots,” undoubtedly applies to the counting of affidavit and absentee ballots currently underway across the state.

Section 581 states, without exception, that “the whole proceedings” must be in “fair and full view of the voting public.”3 Accordingly, election commissioners must permit interested members of the public to attend and observe all aspects of the counting process. That includes when commissioners are examining ballot envelopes or ballots and using the Statewide Election Management System to determine whether a ballot is eligible to be counted. The public has an interest in observing the examination of ballot materials to ensure that no ballot is unlawfully or erroneously rejected or otherwise mishandled.

We trust that you share our interest in promoting public confidence in the integrity of elections in Mississippi. To ensure that the public is aware of their right to attend all aspects of the counting process and is on notice as to the time and place of the count, we ask that you immediately publish such details on your county website and permit access.

We are ready to answer any questions and appreciate your efforts to administer elections in accordance with Mississippi law.

To view this press release online, click here.

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The ACLU of Mississippi is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that defends and expands the constitutional rights and civil liberties of all Mississippians guaranteed under the United States and Mississippi Constitutions, through its litigation, legislative and public education programs. It is an affiliate of the national ACLU.