Rule 1-10-4.3 - Secretary of State's Exercise of Emergency Powers Under the Secretary of State's authority to exercise emergency powers concerning both registration and absentee voting by Mississippi armed services and overseas voters, the Secretary of State promulgates the following:
A. All county and municipal election commissions, party executive committees and voter registrars, as applicable to their respective elections duties, shall fax and accept all faxed voter registration applications, FPCA's and state or national mail-in applications to and from Mississippi armed services and overseas voters.B. The statutory voter registration deadline of 30 days in advance of an election is suspended for Mississippi armed forces and overseas voters and the deadline for voter registration for such voters shall be fourteen days in advance of the election in question. If such armed forces and overseas voters have been released from active duty on a date which is less than 30 days before the election, then such application must be accompanied by a copy of the registrant's DD214 or official orders indicating a release from active duty date which is less than 30 days before the election in which the voter decides to vote.C. All county and municipal election commissions, party executive committees and voter registrars, as applicable to their respective elections duties, shall receive and count, if otherwise valid, all mailed, faxed, or electronically mailed absentee ballots and federal write-in ballots of Mississippi armed services and overseas voters which ballots are received after the statutory absentee ballot deadline but no later than 7:00 p.m. on election day. This rule and exercise of emergency powers by the Secretary of State are effective in the following situations:
A. When the President of the United States shall declare war or issue a declaration of war; orB. When the President of the United States shall declare a national emergency; orC. When the President of the United States shall call to active duty U.S. military reservists, and the Secretary of State shall determine that a substantial number of the activated military reservists are citizens of Mississippi; orD. When the Governor of the State of Mississippi shall declare a state or emergency; orE. When the Governor of the State of Mississippi or President of the United States shall mobilize or call to active duty members of the National Guard, and the Secretary of State shall determine that a substantial number of National Guard members who are citizens of Mississippi have been affected.Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-701 and § 25-43-7(1972).