Mississippi Ballot Measure 2, Remove Electoral Vote Requirement and Establish Runoffs for Gubernatorial and State Office Elections Amendment (2020)

Mississippi Remove Electoral Vote Requirement and Establish Runoffs for Gubernatorial and State Office Elections Amendment
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Elections and campaigns
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature
List of Mississippi measuresBallot Measure 1 (Initiative 65 and Alternative 65A)Ballot Measure 2Ballot Measure 3Submit

The Mississippi Remove Electoral Vote Requirement and Establish Runoffs for Gubernatorial and State Office Elections Amendment was on the ballot in Mississippi as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported the following: *removing the requirement that a candidate for governor or elected state office receive the most votes in a majority of the state's 122 House of Representatives districts (the electoral vote requirement); *removing the role of the Mississippi House of Representatives in choosing a winner if no candidate receives majority approval; and *providing that a candidate for governor or state office must receive a majority vote of the people to win and that a runoff election will be held between the two highest vote-getters in the event that no candidate receives a majority vote.

A "no" vote opposed this amendment to establish runoff elections for governor and state offices, thereby maintaining the electoral vote requirement and the provision establishing that the House of Representatives vote for a winner in the event that no candidate receives a majority or in the event of a tie.

Election results

Mississippi Ballot Measure 2
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		984,788	79.28%
No		257,314	20.72%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did this amendment change about statewide office elections in Mississippi?

See also: Ballot language and constitutional changes

Going into 2020, in Mississippi, a candidate for Governor or elected statewide office (Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Auditor, State Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture, and Commissioner of Insurance) was required to win the popular vote and the highest number of votes in a majority of the state's 122 House districts (the electoral vote). If no candidate secured majorities of both the popular and the electoral vote, under Article V, Section 141, the Mississippi House of Representatives considered the two highest vote-getters and voted to choose the winner. The election system was adopted in the state constitution of 1890.

The constitutional amendment removed the electoral vote requirement and the House of Representatives' role in choosing a winner in the event of a tie. The amendment provided that if a candidate for Governor of Mississippi or statewide elected office does not receive a majority vote of the people, the candidates proceed to a runoff election. The details of the runoff election were left to be provided through state law. The amendment was designed to first apply to the gubernatorial and statewide office elections in 2023.

A runoff election is a second general election conducted to determine which of the top vote-getters in the first general election will be elected to office. Runoffs occur in states that require candidates to receive a majority (as opposed to a plurality) of the vote to win an election. Two states conduct general election runoffs for select federal and state-level offices: Georgia and Louisiana.

Why was this measure on the ballot?

See also: Background and Path to the ballot

Four African-American citizens filed a federal lawsuit (McLemore v. Hosemann) backed by the National Redistricting Foundation on May 30, 2019, alleging that the electoral vote requirement was racially discriminatory and violated the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act. The plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the electoral vote requirement for the 2019 gubernatorial election. On November 1, 2019, the court acknowledged that the electoral vote requirement was likely unconstitutional, but noted that "courts have allowed elections to proceed under unconstitutional rules where it is simply too late to make a change" and denied to grant a preliminary injunction. On December 13, 2019, the court stayed litigation surrounding the election requirements to give the state legislature a chance to remove the constitutional provisions during the 2020 legislative session and said that "if the amendment process falls short, then there would be ample time to resume this litigation and resolve the matter before the 2023 election cycle."

This amendment was introduced as House Concurrent Resolution 47 by Rep. Jim Beckett (R) on February 17, 2020. The House adopted the measure in a vote of 109-6 on June 28 and the Senate adopted the measure in a vote of 49-2 on June 29, 2020.

Had the Mississippi House of Representatives decided a gubernatorial election before?

See also: 1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election

The Mississippi House of Representatives had decided a gubernatorial election one time. In 1999, Ronnie Musgrove (D) received a plurality of the vote, 8,300 more votes than the next highest vote-getter, Mike Parker (R) in a contest with four candidates. Musgrove received 49.6% of the vote and Parker received 48.5% of the vote. Musgrove and Parker each won 61 of the state's 122 House districts. Since neither candidate won a majority (over 50%) of the vote and neither candidate won a majority of the state's House districts, the Democratic-controlled Mississippi House of Representatives decided the election. The House chose Musgrove on January 4, 2000, in a vote of 86-36 along party lines.

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question for the amendment was as follows:

“

This amendment provides that to be elected Governor, or to any other statewide office, a candidate must receive a majority of the votes in the general election. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, then a runoff election shall be held as provided by general law. The requirement of receiving the most votes in a majority of Mississippi House of Representative's districts is removed. [] YES [] NO

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Mississippi Constitution

The measure amended section 140 of the Mississippi Constitution and repealed sections 141, 142, and 143 of the Mississippi Constitution. The following underlined text was added and struck-through text was deleted:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

"Section 140. The Governor of the state and all statewide elected officials shall be chosen in the following manner: elected by the people in a general election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November of A.D. 1895, 2023 and on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in every fourth year thereafter, until the day shall be changed by law, an election shall be held in the several counties and districts created for the election of members of the House of Representatives in this state, for Governor, and. The person receiving in any county or such legislative district the highest a majority of the number of votes cast therein, in the election for said these offices , shall be holden to have received as many votes as such county or district is entitled to members in the House of Representatives, which last named votes are hereby designated "electoral votes." In all cases where a representative is apportioned to two (2) or more counties or districts, the electoral vote based on such representative, shall be equally divided among such counties or districts. The returns of said election shall be certified by the election commissioners, or the majority of them, of the several counties and transmitted, sealed, to the seat of government, directed to the Secretary of State, and shall be by him safely kept and delivered to the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the first day of the next ensuing session of the Legislature declared elected. If no person received a majority of the votes, then a runoff election shall be held under procedures prescribed by the Legislature in general law.

The Speaker shall, on the same day he shall have received said returns, open and publish them in the presence of the House of Representatives, and said House shall ascertain and count the vote of each county and legislative district and decide any contest that may be made concerning the same, and said decision shall be made by a majority of the whole number of members of the House of Representatives concurring therein by a viva voce vote, which shall be recorded in its journal; provided, in case the two (2) highest candidates have an equal number of votes in any county or legislative district, the electoral vote of such county or legislative district shall be considered as equally divided between them. The person found to have received a majority of all the electoral votes, and also a majority of the popular vote, shall be declared elected.

Section 141. If no person shall receive such majorities, then the house of representatives shall proceed to choose a governor from the two persons who shall have received the highest number of popular votes. The election shall be by viva voce vote, which shall be recorded in the journal, in such manner as to show for whom each member voted.

Section 142. In case of an election of governor or any state officer by the house of representatives, no member of that house shall be eligible to receive any appointment from the governor or other state officer so elected, during the term for which he shall be elected.

Section 143. All other state officers shall be elected at the same time, and in the same manner as provided for election of Governor.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2020

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The Mississippi State Legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 14, and the FRE is 35. The word count for the ballot title is 66, and the estimated reading time is 17 seconds.

Support

Supporters

Organizations

• National Redistricting Foundation

Arguments

• The National Redistricting Foundation: "The Mississippi legislature passed a proposed constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters in November, will remove a racially discriminatory law designed to restrict the voting rights of African Americans. Due to pressure from a National Redistricting Foundation lawsuit filed last year, the state is finally casting out a post-Reconstruction era electoral scheme designed to maintain white control of the state government and prevent African-American voters in Mississippi from having a real voice in their representation."
• Eric Holder, former United States Attorney General and chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee: "Today’s vote by the Mississippi legislature is a welcome, and overdue, step in the repealing of a discriminatory law from the Jim Crow era. The National Redistricting Foundation initiated a lawsuit last year challenging these discriminatory constitutional provisions that have for too long diminished the voices of African Americans in Mississippi. As our country reviews its past, I remain hopeful that we will continue to address these unfair, painful parts of our history and set in place laws that live up to America’s founding ideals."
• Vangela Wade, president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Justice: "It’s crucial that this measure receives the support of the people. It’s abundantly clear that Mississippi’s election system was designed to exclude African Americans from positions of power. The structure is a product of election law written in 1890 during the Jim Crow Era. ...To dismantle Mississippi’s racist voting system, it is critical for voters to say 'yes' to this initiative."

Opposition

Aside from the votes against the measure in the state legislature, If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Mississippi ballot measures

Total campaign contributions:
Support:	$0.00
Opposition:	$0.00

Ballotpedia did not identify any committees registered in support of or in opposition to the measure.

If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls and 2020 ballot measure polls

A poll conducted between October 23 and October 26, 2020, found that 54% of respondents planned to vote in favor of Ballot Measure 2, 25% planned to vote against it, and 21% were undecided. Poll results are detailed below.

Mississippi Ballot Measure 2
Poll	Support	Oppose	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
Civiqs poll 10/23/20 - 10/26/20	54.0%	25.0%	21.0%	+/-5.3	507
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

McLemore v. Hosemann lawsuit

Four African-American citizens filed a federal lawsuit (McLemore v. Hosemann) backed by the National Redistricting Foundation on May 30, 2019, alleging that the electoral vote requirement was racially discriminatory and violated the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act. Plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the electoral vote requirement for the 2019 gubernatorial election. On November 1 2019, the court acknowledged that the electoral vote requirement was likely unconstitutional, but noted that "courts have allowed elections to proceed under unconstitutional rules where it is simply too late to make a change" and denied to grant a preliminary injunction. On December 13, 2019, the court stayed litigation surrounding the election requirements to give the state legislature a chance to remove the constitutional provisions during the 2020 legislative session and said that "if the amendment process falls short, then there would be ample time to resume this litigation and resolve the matter before the 2023 election cycle."

1999 Mississippi gubernatorial election

The Mississippi House of Representatives has decided a gubernatorial election one time. In 1999, Ronnie Musgrove (D) received a plurality of the vote, 8,300 more votes than the next highest vote-getter, Mike Parker (R) in a contest with four candidates. Musgrove received 49.6% of the vote and Parker received 48.5% of the vote. Musgrove and Parker each won 61 of the state's 122 House districts. Since neither candidate won a majority (over 50%) of the vote and neither candidate won a majority of the state's House districts, the Democratic-controlled Mississippi House of Representatives decided the election. The House chose Musgrove on January 4, 2000, in a vote of 86-36 along party lines.

Runoff elections

See also: Runoff election

A runoff election is a second general election conducted to determine which of the top vote-getters in the first general election will be elected to office. Runoffs occur in states that require candidates to receive a majority (as opposed to a plurality) of the vote to win an election. Two states conduct general election runoffs for select federal and state-level offices: Georgia and Louisiana.

A primary runoff is a second primary election conducted to determine which of the top vote-getters in the first primary will be awarded the party nomination for an office. Primary runoffs can occur in states that require candidates to receive a majority (as opposed to a plurality) of the vote to win an election. A primary runoff can also be triggered when no candidate meets a minimum threshold of votes to win a contest, such as in North Carolina, which requires a candidate to receive 30 percent of the vote plus one to win. Ten states conduct primary runoffs: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Vermont. In Vermont, primary runoff elections are only held in the case of a tie vote. South Dakota only conducts runoffs for congressional and gubernatorial races.

Majority vs. plurality voting systems

See also: Majority voting system, Plurality voting system

A majority voting system is an electoral system in which the winner of an election is the candidate that received more than half of the votes cast. In the event that no candidate wins an outright majority, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters.

A plurality voting system is an electoral system in which the winner of an election is the candidate that received the highest number of votes. The candidate does not need to win a majority of votes to be elected. This system is sometimes referred to as first-past-the-post or winner-take-all. This is the most common voting system used in the United States.

For example, if 100 votes are cast and Candidate A received 45 votes, Candidate B received 30 votes, and Candidate C received 25 votes, Candidate A won a plurality of votes (the highest number) but did not win a majority of votes. In a majority voting system, the winner would need to receive 51 votes, or 50%+1.

Election policy on the ballot in 2020

In 2020, voters in 14 states voted on 18 ballot measures addressing election-related policies. One of the measures addressed campaign finance, one were related to election dates, five addressed election systems, three addressed redistricting, five addressed suffrage, and three addressed term limits.

Click Show to read details about the election-related measures on statewide ballots in 2020.

Election-related policy ballot measures in 2020

Campaign finance See also: Campaign finance on the ballot a Oregon Measure 107: Measure 107 authorizes the state legislature and local governments to (1) enact laws or ordinances limiting campaign contributions and expenditures; (2) require disclosure of contributions and expenditures; and (3) require that political advertisements identify the people or entities that paid for them. Going into the election, Oregon was one of five states with no limits on campaign contributions. Election dates a New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 2: The amendment allowed the state legislature to pass laws adjusting the election dates of state or county officeholders and adjusting office terms according to those date changes. Under the measure, laws proposing adjustments to election dates of non-statewide officeholders must be supported by a legislative finding that such a change would promote consistency or that it would evenly distribute the number of offices appearing on the ballot. Election systems a Alaska Ballot Measure 2: Ballot Measure 2 replaced the state's partisan primaries with open top-four primaries for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices and established ranked-choice voting for general elections, including the presidential election, in which voters would rank the candidates. Ballot Measure 2 also required persons and entities that contribute more than $2,000 that were themselves derived from donations, contributions, dues, or gifts to disclose the true sources, as defined in the law, of the political contributions. Colorado Proposition 113: In 2019, the Colorado State Legislature passed a bill to add Colorado to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC). NPVIC member states have agreed to give the state’s electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote, provided the NPVIC goes into effect. The NPVIC was designed to go into effect if states representing at least 270 electoral votes join the NPVIC. The campaign Protect Colorado's Vote filed a veto referendum to overturn the law, which resulted in Proposition 113. On November 3, voters upheld the law and voted in favor of adding Colorado to the NPVIC. d Florida Amendment 3: Amendment 3 would have replaced Florida's closed primaries with top-two open primaries for elected state offices. Under Amendment 3, all candidates would have run in the same primary election. The top-two candidates, regardless of their partisan affiliation, would have moved on to the general election under Amendment 3. d Massachusetts Question 2: Question 2 would have enacted ranked-choice voting (RCV) for primary and general elections for state executive officials, state legislators, federal congressional representatives, and certain county offices. As of 2020, statewide elections in Massachusetts used a plurality voting system. a Mississippi Ballot Measure 2: As of 2020, Mississippi required that a candidate for governor or elected state office receive the most votes in a majority of the state's 122 state House of Representatives districts (known as the electoral vote requirement). Ballot Measure 2 repealed this requirement. Instead, Ballot Measure 2 provided that a candidate for governor or state office must receive a majority vote to win and that a runoff election would be held between the two highest vote-getters in the event that no candidate receives a majority vote. Redistricting See also: Redistricting measures on the ballot a Missouri Amendment 3: In 2018, Missouri voters approved Amendment 1, the Lobbying, Campaign Finance, and Redistricting Initiative, which created the nonpartisan state demographer responsible for state legislative redistricting. Amendment 3 repealed the nonpartisan state demographer and returned the state to the use of bipartisan redistricting commissions, with changes to the number and selection of commissioners. The 2020 amendment also maintained the criteria of competitiveness and partisan fairness that was enacted in 2018, but it loosened the partisan fairness requirement and required that population, voter rights abridgment, contiguous districts, simple shapes, and the rules for counties be considered with a higher priority. a New Jersey Public Question 3: As of 2020, the New Jersey Constitution required the state legislative redistricting commission to pass a redistricting plan within a month of receiving the official census data. Question 3 postponed state legislative redistricting until after the election on November 2, 2021, should the state receive federal census data after February 15, 2021. The U.S. Census Bureau asked Congress to extend the deadline to deliver census data from April 1, 2021, to July 31, 2021, due to delays related to the coronavirus pandemic. a Virginia Question 1: Question 1 transferred the power to draw the state's congressional and legislative districts from the state legislature to a redistricting commission composed of state legislators and citizens. Going into 2020, the Virginia General Assembly was responsible for drawing the state's congressional and state legislative district boundaries. The redistricting plans were passed as legislation and subject to the governor's veto power. Suffrage See also: Suffrage on the ballot a Alabama Amendment 1: Amendment 1 amended the Alabama Constitution to state that "only a citizen of the United States," rather than "every citizen of the United States," who is 18 years old or older has the right to vote in Alabama. a California Proposition 17: Proposition 17 amended the state constitution to allow people with felonies who are on parole to vote; therefore, the ballot measure kept imprisonment as a disqualification for voting but removed parole status. Going into 2020, the California Constitution disqualified people with felonies from voting until the completion of their imprisonment and parole. d California Proposition 18: Proposition 18 would have allowed 17-year-olds who will be 18 at the time of the next general election to vote in primary elections and special elections. a Colorado Amendment 76: Amendment 76 amended the Colorado Constitution to state that “only a citizen”, instead of "every citizen", of the U.S. who is 18 years of age or older can vote in Colorado. Under the Colorado Votes Act, which went into effect in August 2019, individuals who are 17 years of age at the time of a primary election but who will be 18 years of age at the time of a general election were allowed to register to vote and vote in the primary election. According to the Colorado Blue Book, prevents 17-year-olds from voting. a Florida Amendment 1: Amendment 1 amended the Florida Constitution to state that “only a citizen” of the U.S. who is 18 years old or older can vote in Florida instead of saying that "every citizen" of the U.S. who is 18 years old or older can vote in Florida. Term limits and term lengths See also: Term limits on the ballot a Arkansas Issue 2: Issue 2 changed term limits of state legislators to twelve consecutive years with the opportunity to return after a four-year break. The 12-year limit applied to anyone elected in 2021 or after. Going into 2020, Arkansas legislators could serve up to 16 years throughout their lifetimes in the House or Senate. d Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 2: The amendment would have increased the office terms of commonwealth's attorneys from six years to eight years starting in 2030; increased the office terms of district judges from four years to eight years starting in 2022; and changed attorney licensing requirements for district judges from two years to eight years beginning in 2022. d Missouri Amendment 1: Amendment 1 would have limited the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, and attorney general to two terms of office in a lifetime. Going into 2020, the state constitution limited the governor and state treasurer to two terms of office in a lifetime but not the other executive offices.

Legislatively referred constitutional amendments in Mississippi

Since 1998, six legislatively referred constitutional amendments appeared on the ballot in Mississippi. Five were approved (83.33%) and one (16.67%) was defeated. The last time the legislature referred a constitutional amendment to the ballot was the Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment of 2014, which was approved.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Mississippi Constitution

In Mississippi, for a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to be certified for the ballot, two-thirds of each house of the Mississippi State Legislature must vote to put it there. The absolute number of those voting in favor must be equal to at least a majority of the members elected to each house.

This amendment was introduced as House Concurrent Resolution 47 on February 17, 2020. The measure was passed in the House on March 10, 2020, in a vote of 114-2. Both no votes came from Republican representatives. Five representatives either were absent, did not vote, or voted present. There was one vacancy. The Senate amended the resolution and the House declined to concur. A conference committee was formed and the bill was amended and adopted by the House in a vote of 109-6 on June 28 and by the Senate in a vote of 49-2 on June 29, 2020. There were two vacancies in the House at the time of the vote.

Vote in the Mississippi House of Representatives June 28, 2020
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of those present in each chamber, provided the vote is a majority of all members
Number of yes votes required: 77  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	109	6	5
Total percent	90.83%	5.00%	4.17%
Democrat	44	2	0
Republican	64	4	5
Independent	1	0	0

Vote in the Mississippi State Senate June 29, 2020
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of those present in each chamber, provided the vote is a majority of all members
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	49	2	1
Total percent	94.2%	1.65%	4.13%
Democrat	14	2	0
Republican	35	0	1

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Mississippi

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Mississippi.

How to cast a vote in Mississippi

The information below covers regular voting policies in the state. Information may have not applied to the election on November 3, 2020, because of temporary changes in response to coronavirus. Click here to read about changes made for the 2020 elections. Poll times All polling places in Mississippi are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration requirements Check your voter registration status here. To register in Mississippi, prospective voters must be United States citizens, residents of their county in Mississippi for at least 30 days, and at least 18 years old by Election Day. Registration applicants must postmark or submit an application in person to the local circuit clerk’s office at least 30 days before an election. Mailed applications must be postmarked by this date. Automatic registration See also: Automatic voter registration Mississippi does not practice automatic voter registration. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Mississippi does not permit online voter registration. Same-day registration See also: Same-day voter registration Mississippi does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirements To register to vote in Mississippi, you must be a resident of the state for at least 30 days. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States Mississippi does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury. All voter registration applications are checked against state driver's license data. If a person is flagged as a possible non-citizen, the registrar is notified, and the person is checked against the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system. If the SAVE data also indicates a person is a non-citizen, the person will be notified that they must provide proof of citizenship to vote. Accepted proof of citizenship include: A birth certificate, including a legible photocopy. A U.S. passport, including a legible photocopy of the passport pages identifying the applicant and showing the passport number. Naturalization documents, including a photocopy of the naturalization documents, and the number of the applicant's certificate of naturalization. Any document deemed to be proof of citizenship under the Federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Eight states — Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming — have laws requiring individuals provide proof of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. Two states, Georgia and Mississippi, require a person provide proof of citizenship if their citizenship status cannot be verified by other means. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registration The site Y’all Vote, run by the Mississippi Secretary of State office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online. Voter ID requirements Mississippi requires voters to present photo identification while voting. The following list of accepted ID was current as of October 2025. “ 1. A valid Mississippi driver’s license (includes Mississippi Mobile ID, issued by Department of Public Safety) 2. A valid identification card issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the State of Mississippi; 3. A valid United States passport 4. A valid employee photo identification card issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States government, the State of Mississippi, or any county, municipality, board, authority or other entity of this state 5. A current and valid Mississippi license to carry a pistol or revolver, containing a photo of the voter 6. A valid tribal photo identification card 7. A valid United States military photo identification card 8. A current and valid student photo identification card, issued by any accredited college, university or community or junior college in the State of Mississippi 9. An official Mississippi Voter Identification Card 10. Any current and valid photo ID not listed above issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States government any other state government ” Registered voters can obtain a Mississippi Voter Identification Card for free at any circuit clerk’s office in Mississippi. Voters can apply for a card during normal business hours (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). Voters who need transportation to a circuit clerk’s office can call 1-800-829-6786. Transportation is free of charge.

See also

2020 measures

• 2020 ballot measures
• Elections and campaigns on the ballot
• State executive official measures on the ballot

Mississippi

• Mississippi ballot measures
• Mississippi ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• House Concurrent Resolution 47 full text
• 2020 Ballot Initiative Information
• 2020 Ballot Initiative Brochure
• 2020 General Election Sample Ballot