Mississippi funds the Secretary of State’s office and election work

The law provides $15,571,621 from the state general fund and authorizes $25,059,000 from special funds for the Secretary of State’s office. The funds support and maintain the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office. The funding covers July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027.

The law limits how the office may spend money on employee pay and vacancies. The limits apply to the Secretary of State’s office and its fiscal year 2027 employee pay and authorized positions. Personal services money cannot be moved to another spending category. Vacancy funds may fill authorized but unfilled positions, not pay for promotions or raises for current employees. The office generally cannot take personnel actions that exceed its fiscal year 2027 personal services funding; essential new hires are excepted. These limits apply to fiscal year 2027 funding, from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027.

The law provides funds for county voting system debt and election security, and allows funds for state election system upkeep. The funding supports county voting systems, election cybersecurity and integrity, and the Statewide Elections Management System. The office may use funds for litigation tied to securities and charitable solicitation enforcement, and for administering the Public Trust. These funds cover fiscal year 2027, from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027.

The law provides special fund money for local land records and election support, and appropriates $16,309,000 for transfer to the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources. The land records and election support allocations come from special source funds credited to the named state funds; the tidelands money goes to the Department of Marine Resources. Land records money is for local government distributions for taxes owed and property maintenance. Election support money may pay for voting equipment and systems, temporary technical help, elections, and training election officials. The land records and election support allocations apply during fiscal year 2027, from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027.

The law reauthorizes up to $2,186,988 in general funds for Secretary of State system updates and upgrades. The funding is for system updates and upgrades by the Secretary of State’s office. Spending cannot exceed the amount left unspent as of June 30, 2025. The reauthorized funding is available from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027.