Mississippi
What to know about the election in Mississippi
Mississippi voters have until 7 p.m. Tuesday to cast their ballots for U.S. President, Congress, Senate and several judicial races.
Below is all the information you need to know before heading to the polls:
How to find your voting precinct:
Along with providing access to other information, registered voters can use the Mississippi Secretary of State’s My Election Day tool to locate their polling place. My Election Day also provides voters with a sample ballot, a list of current office holders and contact information for local election officials.
State voters also can just contact the agency’s website to find more information about polling locations and contact information of election commissioners.
Who is on the ballot?
This year’s federal elections include three contested congressional elections and one in the Senate, as well for the U.S. President. Also on the ballots will be three contested judicial races in the Mississippi Supreme Court and the Mississippi Court of Appeals.
Congressional races
As for congressional races, incumbent Republicans Trent Kelly (Dist. 1) and Mike Ezell (Dist. 3) face Dianne Black and Craig Raybon, respectively. Dist. 2 House Rep. Bennie Thompson is facing Republican challenger Ron Eller, and Dist. 3 Rep. Michael Guest, a Republican, is running unopposed.
Those races are not statewide, so only the candidates in your districts will be on the ballot. For example, only Thompson and Eller will be on the U.S. House section of the Nov. 5 ballot in District 2.
Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican, is facing challenger Ty Pinkins. The U.S. Senate race is statewide just like the presidential race, so it will be on ballots throughout the state.
Presidential race
On the presidential ticket, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat from California, is facing former Republican President Donald Trump. A few third-party candidates, including Robert F. Kennedy, who earlier this year endorsed Trump, before withdrawing from the race.
For more information, look at this year’s sample ballot.
Mississippi judicial candidates
As for the state judicial races, 10 candidates are running for seats on the state supreme court and appellate court.
Incumbents in the Supreme Court races are Central District Justice Jim Kitchens and Southern District Justice Dawn Beam. The state appellate court does not have an incumbent this year.
The court races are not statewide but districted. To check what district you are in, look at the Mississippi Secretary of State’s website.
Kitchens is facing four challengers: State Sen. Jenifer Branning, R-Philadelphia, and former Mississippi Appeals Court Judge Ceola James and private practice attorneys Byron Carter and Abby Gale Robinson.
Beam is facing off against David Sullivan, a Gulfport-based attorney who has been city prosecutor and is a municipal judge in D’Iberville.
Running in the appellate court race are Jennifer Schloegel, a chancery court judge for the 8th District, which encompasses Harrison, Hancock and Stone counties; Ian Baker, an assistant district attorney and division chief for the office in Gulfport and Amy St. Pe’, a Pascagoula attorney.
When do polls open?
Polls will open Tuesday at 7 a.m. and close Tuesday at 7 p.m. Voters who are in line by 7 p.m. can still vote as long as they stay in line.
What should you bring to the polls with you?
Mississippi voters are required to provide photo identification when voting, commonly known as Voter ID. Below are acceptable forms of Voter ID:
- A driver’s license (including a Digital ID provided by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety)
- A photo ID card issued by a branch, department, or entity of the State of Mississippi
- A United States passport
- A government employee ID card
- A firearms license
- A student photo ID issued by an accredited Mississippi university, college or community/junior college
- A United States military ID
- A tribal photo ID
- Any other photo ID issued by any branch, department, agency or entity of the United States government or any state government
- A Mississippi Voter Identification Card
A voter who does not have photo ID on election day will be asked to vote via affidavit ballot. They will then have five business days to show an acceptable form of photo ID or apply for a Mississippi Voter ID Card, at their local circuit clerk’s office.
Voters should also consider bringing water and a cell phone with them to the polls in anticipation of lines. Voters who have difficulty or questions can contact the secretary of state’s elections division at 1-800-829-6786
What if I voted absentee or by affidavit?
Absentee and affidavit voters can track the status of their ballots through the My Election Day tool as well. There is a new tracker for both absentee and affidavit ballots. All mail-in absentee ballots must be postmarked by election day to be counted.
How can I follow the election results?
Preliminary results will begin to be announced shortly after the polls close at 7 p.m. The secretary of state will not release official results on election, but preliminary statewide figures will be posted live to the Clarion Ledger’s Mississippi Election Results page at www.ClarionLedger.com.
Further absentee ballots will be tallied in the days following the election, which could determine whether a race will extend into a runoff.
Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.