Voters must be registered by July 10 to cast a ballot for party primaries in August. Statewide offices and all legislative seats will be on the ticket, though some candidates may not be opposed until the general election in November.
How to register:
Mississippians will need to fill out a physical form and either mail it or bring it in person or to their circuit or municipal clerk’s office by July 10.
Secretary of State Michael Watson wants Mississippians to get "correct information" from "trusted sources" to make sure they are registering and voting correctly.
“You can mail that form in as long as it's postmarked by July 10 or you can go in person,” he said. “I just want to make sure the Mississippians understand it's not hard to register to vote in Mississippi.”
An imperfect, but important, process
Several voting rights advocacy groups in the state are raising awareness about the hurdles some residents may face to register by the upcoming deadline.
Ruth Odell, co-president of the voting rights organization Mississippi League of Women Voters, disagrees with Watson on registration being an easy process. She says the ability to register online would make things more accessible for voters in the state.
“You can just imagine how that would open everything up,” she said. ”Everything requires going to the circuit clerk's office or contacting the circuit clerk's office… All of that's a lot of coming and going and not everybody in Mississippi, as we're all aware, has transportation to make it to the county circuit clerk's office.”
Monica McInnis is with One Voice, a non-profit civic engagement organization. She is urging Mississippians to vote in the primary even if they don't feel it’s as important as the general election.
“It'll be another four years before we actually have this chance again,” she said.
Mississippi is an open primary state, meaning voters are not required to declare a party affiliation to participate.
