Changes to current election procedures are being considered following an extremely close Senate race. State Sen. Chris McDaniel narrowly lost to incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran in a June 24 runoff election. A legal battle is still underway after McDaniel claimed thousands of illegal crossover votes were cast for Cochran.

A 51 member panel of academics and community leaders, assembled by Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, will consider if changes to the way voters register for primaries are needed and whether early voting and online registration should be allowed. Currently, voters do not register with a party prior to a primary election and state law states that a voter should only vote in a primary if they intend to support a candidate later.

The panel will make its recommendations to the state legislature for consideration during next year’s session.