The deadline for Mississippi voters to be eligible to cast a ballot in the upcoming midterm elections is rapidly approaching.
Secretary of State Michael Watson reminded the public that the deadline to register is Oct. 5. Registration can be done in person at a voter’s local circuit clerk’s office or by mail. If mailing a registration application, it must be postmarked by Oct. 5.
Watson added that in-person and mail-in absentee ballots are now available at circuit clerk’s offices statewide.
Absentee voting looks a little different this year due to a new state law. Voters will still use a paper absentee ballot, but instead of placing it into an envelope and then the ballot box, they’ll simply feed it directly into voting machines like they would on election day.
“We got rid of the envelope this year. So, now you’re going to go in, you’re going to have a ballot printed for you that’s your ballot, and you’re going to cast that into an election machine,” Sen. Jeremy England, who chairs his chamber’s elections committee, said. “What that means is at 7 p.m. on Election Day, those votes are going to be tallied just like everybody else’s. That’s going to make that system work a lot better and a lot quicker.”
Officials believe the new absentee process will be more efficient and eliminate technical issues. Absentee voting runs until Oct. 31. The midterms will take place on Nov. 3. A full list of Mississippi candidates who advanced in March’s primaries and will be on the ballot come November can be found here.
