Mississippi State Flag of 1894 Amendment, Initiative 58 (2018)
| Mississippi Initiative 58: State Flag of 1894 Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 6, 2018 | |
| Topic Motto and symbols | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
Mississippi Initiative 58, the State Flag of 1894 Amendment, was not on the ballot in Mississippi as an indirect initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.
The measure was designed to amend the Mississippi Constitution to recognize the flag adopted by the legislature of 1894, which was the current flag as of August 2017, as the official state flag of Mississippi.[1]
Background
The Mississippi state flag was adopted by the state legislature in 1894. The emblem on the left side of the 1894 flag included a rendition of the Confederate battle flag.
In 2001, the Mississippi Economic Council, or MEC, led the unsuccessful Mississippi Flag Referendum to change the state flag. Nearly two-thirds of voters rejected a new flag design without the Confederate emblem and instead chose to keep the 1894 flag. The council's CEO Blake Wilson said that from a business perspective it did not make sense to introduce a product that "made 38% of your market uncomfortable," referring to the state's African-American population. “It was a no-brainer from our perspective," Wilson said, "but we probably misjudged the ability for business to influence the general public. The people in Mississippi were not ready to take that step."[2]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The proposed ballot title was as follows:[1]
| “ | Should the current State Flag be adopted by constitutional amendment?[3] | ” |
Ballot summary
The proposed ballot summary was as follows:[1]
| “ |
Initiative No. 58 proposes to amend the Mississippi Constitution to recognize that the State Flag of Mississippi is and shall be the flag adopted by the Legislature of 1894 and used continuously since then. Any proposed amendment to the State Flag of Mississippi shall conform to the provisions of the amendment process found in Section 273 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, as proposed by the Legislature or by initiative of the people.[3] |
” |
Support
Rafael Sanchez sponsored the initiative.[1]
Path to the ballot
According to Mississippi law, the number of signatures collected must be equal to at least 12 percent of the total number of votes cast for governor in the last gubernatorial general election. Based on the votes cast in the 2015 gubernatorial election, petitioners needed to collect at least 86,185 valid signatures in accordance with the state's distribution requirement in order to get the initiative on the ballot. An initiative can be circulated for one year before becoming invalid. Initiative 58 expired without supporters submitting any signatures.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Mississippi Secretary of State, "The State Flag of Mississippi," accessed December 3, 2015
- ↑ Time, “Why Mississippi Is Unlikely to Redesign Its State Flag,” June 23, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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State of Mississippi Jackson (capital) |
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