Mississippi Legislative Session Immunity Amendment, Initiative 59 (2018)
| Mississippi Legislative Session Immunity Amendment, Initiative 59 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Government accountability | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Mississippi Legislative Session Immunity Amendment, Initiative 59 was not put on the ballot in Mississippi as an indirect initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.
The measure would have repealed Article 4, Section 48, of the Mississippi Constitution. The article would have allowed legislators to be immune from arrest during the legislative session, for fifteen days before the session begins, and fifteen days after the session ends. Therefore, repealing the article would have eliminated this immunity for legislators.
Text of measure
Ballot summary
The ballot summary is as follows:[1]
| “ |
Initiative No. 59 proposes to repeal Article 4, Section 48 of the Mississippi Constitution which states: Senators and Representatives shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, theft, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of the Legislature, and for fifteen days before the commencement and after the termination of each session.[2] |
” |
Ballot title
The proposed ballot title was as follows:[1]
| “ |
Should Article 4, Section 48 of the Mississippi Constitution granting State legislators limited immunity from arrest be repealed?[2] |
” |
Support
Supporters
Chadwick L. Shook sponsored Initiative 59.[1]
Path to the ballot
In Mississippi, supporters can only indirectly initiate constitutional amendments. Before signature collection begins for an initiative, the attorney general prepares a ballot title and summary, and once this happens supporters have one year to gather signatures. When enough signatures have been gathered, they are submitted first to the local county circuit clerk for certification, then filed with the secretary of state, and then sent to the legislature. The legislature can choose to adopt the measure, amend it, reject it, or do nothing with it.
If the legislature chooses to either adopt or reject the initiative, it would be placed on the next statewide election ballot by the secretary of state. If the legislature chooses to amend the initiative, both the amended version and the original version would be placed on the next statewide election ballot by the secretary of state. Signature requirements in Mississippi are based on the total number of votes cast in the state's most recent gubernatorial election. A number of signatures equal to at least 12 percent of this total was necessary for qualifying initiated constitutional amendments for the 2018 ballot, and they needed to be gathered according to certain distribution requirements.
2018
- The initiative received its ballot title and summary from the attorney general, and supporters needed to submit 86,185 valid signatures within the year.[1]
- Initiative 59 expired prior to the signature deadline for 2018 ballot initiatives in Mississippi.[1]
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.[3]
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
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Mississippi Secretary of State, "Repeal of Art. 4, Sec. 48, Miss. Const.," accessed December 1, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
 |
State of Mississippi Jackson (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
