The Mississippi congressional primary election is set for Mar. 10, and the general election is scheduled for Nov. 3. All four Mississippi U.S. House seats and one Mississippi U.S. Senate seat are up for election on these ballots.
While the voter registration deadline for the March primary has passed, those who wish to vote in the November election have until Oct. 5 to register. Voter registration in Mississippi is completely physical, meaning the form must be filled out and submitted in person to a Circuit Clerk’s office or a Municipal Clerk’s office, or by mail after downloading a voter registration form and mailing it to your Circuit Clerk.
Mississippi State University students aged 18 and older may register to vote in their hometown using their home address or in Oktibbeha County using their local address, but they cannot be registered in both places. Registering to vote in two places will cause the earlier registration to be discarded.
If registered outside Oktibbeha County, university students, faculty and administrators may submit a request for an absentee ballot that can be returned in person before the election or by mail until the day of the election. To request an absentee ballot, voters may visit the Circuit Court where they are registered to vote or visit the court’s website to find the best way to contact them.
The last day to “vote early” with an absentee ballot in person for the primary election is March 7. All Circuit Clerks are required to maintain open hours from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays in addition to normal weekday hours until March 7 to allow for in-person absentee voting. For the general election, early absentee voting will be available from Sept. 21 through Oct. 31.
For people who cannot make it home to vote in person, mail-in ballots must be postmarked by election day at the latest. It is also important to allow time for the absentee ballot request form to arrive, be returned and the ballot to arrive. Ballots must be sent to a residence outside the county where the voter is registered.
Mail-in ballots must also be witnessed and signed by an official authorized to administer an oath, such as a notary public. The ballot must be filled out in front of the notary. Most banks offer free notarization services for customers with accounts. Additionally, the UPS store and the clerk at City Hall will generally notarize documents for a small fee.
For example, a student registered to vote in Rankin County would not be able to have their mail-in ballot sent to their home address in Rankin County; it would have to be sent to their school address and then returned to the Rankin County Circuit Clerk by election day.
For anyone who can vote in person on election day, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Any voter in line at 7 p.m. will be able to vote. For those unsure about their polling location, the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office has a My Election Day website where voters can view their polling place.
Out-of-state students can also still vote in their home elections. A list of primary dates, seats and registration deadlines for nearby states is listed below.
- Arkansas voters have until Mar. 1 to register to vote for the primary election on Mar. 31.
- Louisiana voters have until April 15 to register in person or until April 25 to register online for the primary election on May 16.
- Alabama voters have until May 4 to register to vote for the primary election on May 19.
- Georgia voters have until April 20 to register to vote for the primary election on May 19.
- Tennessee voters have until July 7 to register to vote for the primary election on Aug. 6.
- Florida voters have until July 20 to register to vote for the primary election on Aug. 18.
A list of all important election dates and information can be found on each state’s Secretary of State’s office.
