Mississippi Code

Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-603 (2026)

Delivery of returns to Secretary of State

✓ current as of July 2026

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(1) The election commissioners shall, within ten (10) days after the general election and within ten (10) days after a runoff election, if one is required, transmit to the Secretary of State, to be filed in his or her office, a statement of the whole number of votes given in their county and the whole number of votes given in each precinct in their county, for each candidate for any office at the election; but the returns of every election for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Auditor of Public Accounts, State Treasurer, Commissioner of Insurance and other state officers, shall each be made out separately, sealed up together and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the Secretary of State, and endorsed the "VOTE FOR STATE OFFICERS." In addition to the other information required pursuant to this subsection, the returns for state officers shall contain a statement of the whole number of votes given in each House of Representative district or portion thereof for each candidate for state office at the election.

(2) Constitutional amendments shall be voted for at the time fixed by the concurrent resolution. The election, whether held separately or with other elections, shall be conducted, in all respects, as required for elections generally. The election commissioners shall, within ten (10) days after the election, transmit to the Secretary of State a statement of the whole number of votes given in their county and the whole number of votes given in each precinct in their county for or against constitutional amendments.

(3) The statements certified by the election commissioners and transmitted to the Secretary of State, as required by this section, shall be tabulated by the Secretary of State. Certified county vote totals shall represent the final results of the election.

(4) The statements required by this section shall contain a certification, signed and dated by a majority of the election commissioners, which shall read as follows:
"We, the undersigned election commissioners, do hereby certify that this statement of the whole number of votes contains the official vote for the election reflected therein."

(5) The statements required by this section shall be transmitted to the Secretary of State on such forms and by such methods as may be required by rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of State.

Derived from 1972 Code § 23-5-171 [Codes, Hutchinson's 1848, ch. 7, art 5 (8); 1857, ch. 4, art 14; 1871, § 378; 1880, § 140; 1892, § 3672; 1906, § 4179; Hemingway's 1917, § 6813; 1930, § 6251; 1942, § 3280; Laws, 1970, ch. 506, § 28; Laws, 1978, ch. 458, § 17; Laws, 1982, Ex Sess, ch. 17, § 20; repealed by Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 335]; Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 193; Laws, 2002, ch. 534, § 4, eff. 7/29/2002 (the date the United States Attorney General interposed no objection under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965).

Amended by Laws, 2023, ch. 417, HB 1276,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2023.

Amended by Laws, 2017, ch. 441, HB 467, 125, eff. 7/1/2017.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 4 cases, 1991–2017 · leading case: In Re Wilbourn, 590 So. 2d 1381 (Miss. 1991).

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In Re Wilbourn, 590 So. 2d 1381 (Miss. 1991). “Further, the Commission has not reported and delivered the returns to the Secretary of State as provided by Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-603 : The commissioners of election shall, within ten (10) days after the general election, transmit to the Secretary of State, to be filed in his…”

Keyes v. Gunn, 230 F. Supp. 3d 588 (S.D. Miss. 2017). “See Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-603 . Those certifications were transmitted to the Secretary of State, who tabulated the results and submitted them to each branch of the Legislature.”

John Reeves v. Adrienne Wooten (Miss. 2007). “]” Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-601 (Rev. 2007). They are also required to deliver the returns of each election to the Secretary of State.”

In re Election for House of Representatives Dist. 71, 987 So. 2d 917 (Miss. 2008). “Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-603 (Rev.2007). ¶ 8.”

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