Voting in Mississippi
Last Updated August 31st, 2021
Voter Registration In Mississippi
Who Can Register In Mississippi
To register to vote in Mississippi, you must:
- Be a U.S. citizen
- Be a resident of Mississippi and the county, city, or town in which you plan to register for at least 30 days
- Be at least 18 years old
- Not have been declared “non-compos mentis” or “mentally incompetent” by a court of law
- Not have been convicted in a Mississippi court of arson, armed robbery, bigamy, bribery, carjacking, embezzlement, extortion, felony bad check, felony shoplifting, forgery, larceny, murder, obtaining money or goods under false pretense, perjury, rape, receiving stolen property, robbery, statutory rape, theft, timber larceny, larceny under lease or rental agreement, or unlawful taking of motor vehicle; or, if you have had such a conviction, have been pardoned, had right of citizenship restored by the governor, or had suffrage restored by the legislature
You must register to vote at least 30 days before the election you wish to vote in.
Mississippi Election Day Registration
Mississippi does not offer Election Day registration, so be sure to submit your voter registration before the deadline.
Pre-registration
You can pre-register to vote in Mississippi if you will turn 18 by the next election.
Voting Rights Restoration
Mississippi does remove voting rights for people with felony convictions. Voting rights are automatically restored for people convicted of some crimes upon release. For certain disenfranchising crimes, a pardon from the governor is needed to restore voting rights.
If you have a past conviction, learn more about your eligibility to vote here.
Voting In Mississippi
Where To Vote In Mississippi
Vote-by-mail & Absentee
Voters can only vote absentee/by mail in Mississippi with an approved excuse. Approved excuses include:
- Enlisted or commissioned members of the United States Armed Forces, their spouses and/or dependents, who will be absent from their county of residence on Election Day
- Members of the Merchant Marines or the American Red Cross, or their spouses and/or dependents, who will be absent from their county of residence on Election Day
- Disabled war veterans who are patients in any hospital, or their spouses and/or dependents, who will be absent from their county of residence on Election Day
- Civilians attached to any branch of the Armed Forces, the Merchant Marines, or the American Red Cross and serving outside the United States, or their spouses and/or dependents, who will be absent from their county of residence on Election Day
- Trained or certified emergency response providers who is deployed on Election Day during any state of emergency declared by the President of the United States or any Governor of any U.S. State, who will be absent from their county of residence on Election Day
- Persons temporarily residing outside the territorial limits of the United States and the District of Columbia
- Students, teachers, or administrators whose employment or studies necessitate their absence from their county of voting residence, or their dependent or spouse who maintains a common domicile outside the county of voting residence
- Persons who will be outside their county of residence on Election Day
- Persons required to be at work on Election Day during the times at which the polls will be open
- Persons temporarily or permanently physically disabled
- Persons sixty-five (65) years of age or older
- Parents, spouses, or dependents of persons having a temporary or permanent physical disability, who are hospitalized outside their county of residence or more than fifty (50) miles away from their residence if the parents, spouses, and/or dependents will be with such persons on election day
- Members of the Mississippi Congressional delegation, or their spouses and/or dependents, who will be absent from their county of residence on Election Day.
Early Voting In Mississippi
Mississippi is a bottom-up state, so elections are run by county election officials. Please contact your county circuit clerk to see if you can vote early.
Primary Elections In Mississippi
Mississippi has open primaries. Any registered voter can participate in primary elections, regardless of political party. 17-year-olds can vote in the primary election if they will be 18 by the corresponding general election.
Voter ID In Mississippi
Voter ID Requirements
Photo ID is required to vote in Mississippi. Valid forms of ID include:
- A driver's license
- 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
If you do not have an approved form of ID, you can get a free Mississippi Voter Identification Card at any circuit clerk’s office. Call 1 (844) MSVoter (1 (844) 678-6837) for Voter ID information or assistance in obtaining a Mississippi Voter Identification Card.
On Election Day if you do not present an acceptable form of photo ID or are unable to do so because of a religious objection, you are entitled to cast an affidavit ballot. A voter casting an affidavit ballot because he/she did not present an acceptable form of photo ID based upon a religious objection may not have his/her ballot rejected for this reason if he/she completes an Affidavit of Religious Objection in the Circuit or Municipal Clerk’s Office within five business days after Election Day. A voter casting an affidavit ballot because he/she did not present an acceptable form of photo ID may not have his/her ballot rejected for this reason if he/she presents an acceptable form of photo ID in the Circuit or Municipal Clerk’s Office within five business days after Election Day.
Additional Mississippi Resources
Your State Election Official
Mississippi Secretary of State
Michael Watson
https://www.sos.ms.gov/elections-voting
Phone number: 800.829.2550 (Elections Hotline); 601.576.2550 (Elections Call Center)