(1)
(a)
Whenever a constitutional amendment is submitted to the vote of the people, the substance of the amendment shall be printed in clear and unambiguous language on the ballot after the list of candidates, if any, followed by the word "YES" and also by the word "NO", and shall be styled in such a manner that a "YES" vote will indicate approval of the proposal and a "NO" vote will indicate rejection.
(b)
The substance of the amendment shall be an explanatory statement not exceeding seventy-five (75) words in length of the chief purpose of the measure. The statement shall be prepared by the Legislature and included in the concurrent resolution proposing the amendment to the Constitution. The statement shall avoid, whenever possible, the use of legal terminology or jargon and shall use instead, simple, ordinary, everyday language. The Secretary of State shall give each proposed constitutional amendment a designating number for convenient reference specific to the election in which the amendment appears on the ballot. This number designation shall appear on the ballot. Designating numbers shall be assigned in the order of filing or certification of the amendments. The Secretary of State shall furnish the designating number and the substance of each amendment to the circuit clerk of each county in which the amendment is to be voted on.
(c)
The full text of each proposed constitutional amendment shall be published by the Secretary of State as provided for in Section
7-3-39
, and shall be posted prominently in all polling places, with copies of the proposed amendment to be otherwise available at each polling place.
(2)
Except as may be otherwise provided in subsection (1) of this section, whenever any public measure, question or matter that requires an affirmative or negative vote is submitted to a vote of the electors, the measure or matter shall be printed on the ballot and also the words "FOR" or "AGAINST" to be so arranged by the proper officer so that the voter can intelligently vote his or her preference.
Source
Derived from 1972 Code § 23-5-141 [Codes, 1892, § 3654; 1906, § 4161; Hemingway's 1917, § 6795; 1930, § 6235; 1942, § 3264; repealed, Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 335; repealed, Laws, 1986, ch. 501, § 2] and § 23-5-142 [Laws, 1979, ch. 502, § 1; repealed, Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 33; repealed, Laws, 1986, ch. 501, § 2]; Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 114; Laws, 1987, ch. 499, § 6; Laws, 1993, ch. 474, § 1, eff. 7/15/1993 (the date the United States Attorney General interposed no objections under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965).
History
Amended by
Laws,
2017
, ch.
441
,
HB 467
,
82
, eff.
7/1/2017
.