Jim Crow is on the Ballot on November 3rd
On November 3rd, in addition to voting for our preferred candidates, we have a chance to vote on statewide ballot measures that will affect Mississippians for years to come. Make sure to go to the end of the ballot and make your voice heard.
In Mississippi, we have a campaign to urge voters to vote Yes on Ballot Measure 2 (House Concurrent Resolution 47). This is to take down a Jim Crow era constitutional provision that requires statewide candidates to win not only the popular vote but also a majority of Mississippi House districts. By way of background, this is the issue A.G. Eric Holder sued the state over in 2019 and a bill we lobbied for during this year’s session.
Since 1890, statewide candidates for office in Mississippi have had to win not only the popular vote but also a majority (with a plurality) of the vote in the state’s 122 House districts. This mechanism was put in place to prevent newly enfranchised Black Mississippians from electing Black statewide officials and protect white political power in the state. In 2019, litigation was filed by former Attorney General Eric Holder to challenge this provision. A federal judge was impressed with General Holder’s argument enough to reserve judgment on the issue in the event the 2019 election triggered the provision. In a surprise development, the Legislature passed HCR 47, which creates a ballot question allowing voters to remove this Jim Crow-era provision from our Constitution.
Absentee ballots are available at your circuit clerk’s office and in-person absentee voting is available until October 31.
This year, you may vote absentee if you have a medical condition that qualifies as a “physical disability” (e.g., serious asthma, diabetes, kidney diseases, and lupus) that puts you at greater risk of severe illness if you contract COVID-19 at your polling place.
If you have health problems and worry that you could get very sick if you contracted COVID-19, contact your county circuit clerk and ask about voting absentee.
You may also vote absentee if you have a directive from your personal doctor to “quarantine” at your home or are caring for someone who has such a directive.
***Mississippi has expanded access to curbside voting for people with symptoms of COVID-19 including coughing, vomiting, headaches, fever, sore throat, congestion, or loss of taste or smell. If you experience these symptoms on Election Day, ask the poll manager to let you vote by curbside voting or open-air voting. Rule 2.8***
