2024 MS Legislative Scorecard
The following scorecard lists several key votes in the Mississippi Legislature in 2024 and ranks state representatives and senators based on their fidelity to (U.S.) constitutional and limited-government principles.
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Senate Votes
HB539 expands presumptive Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women with a net family income at or below 194% of the federal poverty level. This allows them to receive immediate prenatal care for up to 60 days while their formal Medicaid application is processed.
The Mississippi State Senate passed HB539 on February 29, 2024 by a vote of 48 to 4. We have assigned pluses to the nays because neither health care nor social welfare is the legitimate object of government. Medicaid, as with many other "entitlement programs," discriminatorily and unjustly provides “eligible” low-income persons, who have little or no tax liability, with government funds at the expense of other hard-working citizens. Mississippi must reject the use of taxpayer dollars for this ever-expanding and unsustainable federal-state program that is not authorized under Article 1, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution.
SB2776 grants certain public agencies the authority to take immediate possession of property easements or rights-of-way when needed for public road construction and utility projects related to specific economic-development initiatives. This legislation is supposed to expedite infrastructure improvements that are critical for attracting and supporting business investments in the state. By speeding up the property acquisition process, the bill wants to reduce delays that could slow down the progress of major development projects.
The Mississippi State Senate passed SB2776 on March 14, 2024 by a vote of 46 to 6. We have assigned pluses to the nays because eminent domain for private corporations violates the U.S. Constitution, specifically the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Furthermore, the Fourteenth Amendment declares, “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”
SB2425 defines "caregiver," "family member," and "household member" for the purposes of the state's ballot harvesting law. The bill specifies that only election officials, postal workers, individuals authorized by federal law, or a voter's family member, household member, or caregiver may collect and transmit a voter's mail-in ballot.
The Mississippi State Senate passed SB2425 on April 15, 2024 by a vote of 36 to 14. We have assigned pluses to the ayes because ballot harvesting—as with mass voting by mail in general—enables electoral fraud, disenfranchising eligible voters. States should exercise their authority, under Article 1, Section 4, of the U.S. Constitution, to implement free, fair, and secure elections, providing equal protection of the right of American citizens to vote.
HB903 known as the "Jeremy Todd Malone Law," criminalizes the manufacture, possession, and use of machine-gun-conversion devices, such as "Glock switches" or "auto-sears," which transform semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic weapons. A first offense is classified as a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $3,000. Subsequent offenses carry increased penalties, with a second conviction resulting in up to 15 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $20,000.
The Mississippi State Senate passed HB903 on April 24, 2024 by a vote of 50 to 2. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this bill undermines the Second Amendment, which protects the God-given right of individuals to keep and bear arms—a right that “shall not be infringed.” Criminalizing the mere possession of conversion devices, regardless of intent or use, expands state power in a way that violates this fundamental liberty.
SB2577 introduces criminal penalties for the wrongful dissemination of "digitizations," such as deepfakes. The law defines "digitization" as altering images or audio using AI or other technological means to depict individuals engaging in speech or conduct they did not actually perform. Disseminating such content with intent to cause harm, incite violence, or deter voting can lead to imprisonment for up to five years and fines up to $50,000.
The Mississippi State Senate passed SB2577 on April 26, 2024 by a vote of 35 to 13. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this legislation undermines the fundamental right to free speech protected by the First Amendment. This opens the door to government overreach and potentially criminalizes certain forms of expression based on subjective interpretations of the law.
HB1406 enacts several changes to the state's absentee voting procedures. For in-person absentee ballots cast at the registrar's office, the bill mandates that the absentee ballot application and elector certificates be printed directly on the ballot envelope. It also specifies that signature mismatches cannot be used as grounds to reject these in-person absentee ballots. Additionally, the bill allows individuals who work on-call and those incarcerated for non-disqualifying crimes to vote absentee.
The Mississippi State Senate passed HB1406 on May 3, 2024 by a vote of 33 to 17. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this just opens the door for more voter fraud. This legislation compromises the integrity of our elections, opening the door to fraudulent behavior, which drives people to lose faith in our elections. Measures such as absentee and early voting must be fully opposed.
