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Mississippi 2023 ballot measures
As of September 17, 2025, zero statewide ballot measures were certified to appear on the ballot in Mississippi on November 7, 2023.
Potential measures
On May 14, 2021, the Mississippi Supreme Court overturned Initiative 65, the 2020 medical marijuana initiative. The ruling stated that the initiative petition did not comply with the signature distribution requirements in the Mississippi Constitution and that it is impossible for any petition to meet the requirements and has been impossible since congressional reapportionment in 2001.
The six justices wrote, "... Whether with intent, by oversight, or for some other reason, the drafters of [the constitutional signature distribution requirement] wrote a ballot initiative process that cannot work in a world where Mississippi has fewer than five representatives in Congress. To work in today’s reality, it will need amending—something that lies beyond the power of the Supreme Court."[1]
The 1992 constitutional amendment that granted the power of citizen initiative in Mississippi required signatures to be collected evenly from all five congressional districts that existed at the time. It mandated no more than one-fifth of the required signatures could be collected from any single congressional district. During 2001 redistricting after the 2000 census, however, the number of congressional districts in the state was reduced to four.
Sponsors of some initiatives targeting the 2022 ballot in Mississippi filed a lawsuit challenging the Supreme Court's ruling.[2]
Click here for more information on the lawsuit and the ruling.
For 2023, measures that were certified for the ballot are available here, and measures that failed to make the ballot are available here.
Getting measures on the ballot
Mississippi allows citizen initiatives in the form of indirectly initiated constitutional amendments. Signature requirements for initiated petitions are determined by calculating 12 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent election. At least 106,190 valid signatures are required to put indirect initiated constitutional amendments before voters in 2023.
Beginning with the day the sponsor receives the ballot title and summary, proponents have one year to circulate petitions and receive certification from the county circuit clerks. Signatures must be submitted to the secretary of state at least 90 days prior to the beginning of the regular session—which begins in the first week of January. Signature petition sheets must be submitted to and certified by county officials prior to submission to the secretary of state. Petitioners are recommended to coordinate with county elections officials to determine when signatures must be submitted to county officials in order to meet the early October (of the preceding year) deadline for submission to the secretary of state.
Once it is determined that proponents of a measure have collected enough signatures and the measure is filed with the Mississippi State Legislature, the legislature must act on the measure within four months. The legislature may choose to adopt the measure by a majority vote in each house. Whether the legislature adopts or rejects the measure, the proposed amendment proceeds to the ballot. The legislature may also choose to approve an amended or alternate version of the measure. In this case, both measures would appear on the ballot together (See: Competing initiatives for details). The Mississippi State Legislature may also place measures on the ballot as legislatively referred constitutional amendments with a 2/3 vote in each chamber.
An initiative must receive a majority of the total votes cast for that particular initiative and must also receive more than 40 percent of the total votes cast in that election.[3]
Note on Mississippi:
Mississippi has an initiated constitutional amendment process, including a signature distribution requirement based on five congressional districts. However, the requirements cannot be met, according to the Mississippi Supreme Court, because the state has four congressional districts following reapportionment in 2001. As a result, the process remains part of the state constitution but cannot be carried out in practice.[4]
Not on the ballot
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRCA | Ballot Initiative Process Amendment | Direct democracy measures | Reinstates a process for ballot initiatives, allows citizens to initiate state laws by circulating petitions for up to nine months and gathering signatures equal to 12% of the total number of qualified electors in the state as of the last presidential election with at least 100 signatures collected in each county | 
|
| IndICA | State Flag Amendment (#72) | Motto and symbols | Asks voters to choose between the 1894 state flag which contains the Confederate battle cross and the Hospitality Flag as the new state flag |
|
| IndICA | Vote on New State Flag Initiative (#74) | Motto and symbols | Asks voters to choose between (1) the 1894 state flag which contains the Confederate battle cross; (2) the Bicentennial Flag with the state seal; (3) the In God We Trust Magnolia flag that was adopted via Measure 3 on the 2020 ballot; and (4) the Stennis Flag with the words In God We Trust added |
|
| IndICA | Term Limits Initiative (#75) | Term limits | Limits terms for federal, state, and local elected officials to two successive terms |
|
| IndICA | Marijuana and Hemp Decriminalization Initiative (#77) | Marijuana | Legalizes marijuana, hemp, and cannabis-derivative use; allows individuals to grow up to 99 plants without a license; releases prisoners held on marijuana-related charges and expunges related criminal records |
|
| IndICA | Early Voting Initiative (#78) | Suffrage | Requires at least 10 days of early voting including two Saturdays before every election |
|
State profile
| Demographic data for Mississippi | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 2,989,390 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 46,923 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 59.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 37.4% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.4% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 1.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 2.9% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 82.3% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 20.7% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $39,665 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 27% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Mississippi. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
Mississippi voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, two are located in Mississippi, accounting for 0.97 percent of the total pivot counties.[5]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Mississippi had two Retained Pivot Counties, 1.10 of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Mississippi coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Mississippi
- United States congressional delegations from Mississippi
- Public policy in Mississippi
- Endorsers in Mississippi
- Mississippi fact checks
- More...
See also
- 2023 ballot measures
- List of Mississippi ballot measures
- Laws governing ballot measures in Mississippi
- Campaign finance requirements for Mississippi ballot measures
External links
- ↑ Mississippi Supreme Court, "IN RE INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 65: MAYOR MARY HAWKINS BUTLER v MICHAEL WATSON, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI," accessed May 14, 2021
- ↑ WMC Action News, "Challenge filed to Mississippi Supreme Court’s ruling on Initiative 65," accessed June 3, 2021
- ↑ Mississippi Secretary of State, "Mississippi's initiative process," accessed December 27, 2018
- ↑ Mississippi Supreme Court, "In Re Initiative Measure No. 65: Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler V Michael Watson, in His Official Capacity as Secretary of State for the State of Mississippi," May 14, 2021
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
