Mississippi absentee voting well below 2020 mark three weeks from Election Day

• Voters in Mississippi willing to vote by absentee ballot increased significantly during the 2020 election cycle, due in large part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Monday – three weeks from Election Day on November 5th – the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office reported that 42,102 absentee ballots have been received in the Magnolia State.

The Statewide Election Management System also showed that a total of 60,057 absentee ballots had been requested and 57,920 absentee ballots were sent as of October 14.

Compared to four years ago just over three weeks out, nearly 59,000 absentee ballots had been cast in Mississippi with over 91,000 absentee ballots requested.

Voters in Mississippi willing to vote by absentee ballot increased significantly during the 2020 election cycle, due in large part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 234,000 Mississippians had their votes accepted in that election by way of an absentee ballot.

In 2016’s November General Election, just over 103,000 absentee ballots were accepted.

Click here for a 2024 Mississippi General Election Sample Ballot

Races on the ballot in the 2024 election cycle include President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, state judicial races and other local elections.

Voting Absentee in Mississippi

The in-person absentee voting deadline is November 2nd.

Circuit Clerk offices will be open around the state to accept absentee ballots during normal business hours 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday as well as 8 a.m. until noon on Saturday, October 26th and Saturday, November 2nd.

Under Mississippi law, the following categories of people are entitled to vote by in-person absentee ballot:

1. Any qualified elector who is a bona fide student, teacher or administrator at any college, university, junior college, high, junior high, or elementary grade school whose studies or employment at such institution necessitates his or her absence from the county of his or her voting residence on the date of any primary, general or special election, or the spouse and dependents of that student, teacher or administrator if such spouse or dependent(s) maintain a common domicile, outside of the county of his or her voting residence, with such student, teacher or administrator.
2. Any qualified elector who is required to be away from his or her place of residence on any election day due to his or her employment as an employee of a member of the Mississippi congressional delegation and the spouse and dependents of such person if he or she shall be residing with such absentee voter away from the county of the spouse’s voting residence.
3. Any qualified elector who is away from his or her county of residence on election day for any reason.
4. Any person who has a temporary or permanent physical disability and who, because of such disability, is unable to vote in person without substantial hardship to himself, herself or others, or whose attendance at the voting place could reasonably cause danger to himself, herself or others.
5. The parent, spouse or dependent of a person with a temporary or permanent physical disability who is hospitalized outside of his or her county of residence or more than fifty (50) miles distant from his or her residence, if the parent, spouse or dependent will be with such person on election day.
6. Any person who is sixty-five (65) years of age or older.
7. Any member of the Mississippi congressional delegation absent from Mississippi on election day, and the spouse and dependents of such member of the congressional delegation.
8. Any qualified elector who will be unable to vote in person because he or she is required to be at work on election day during the time at which the polls will be open or on-call during the times when the polls will be open.

Those entitled to vote absentee by mail-in ballot include:

1. Any person incarcerated and not convicted of a disenfranchising crime
2. Any person who is temporarily residing outside of their county of residence, and the ballot must be mailed to an address outside the county.
3. Any person who has a temporary or permanent physical disability and who, because of such disability, is unable to vote in person without substantial hardship to himself, herself or others, or whose attendance at the voting place could reasonably cause danger to himself, herself or others.
4. The parent, spouse or dependent of a person with a temporary or permanent physical disability who is hospitalized outside of his or her county of residence or more than fifty (50) miles distant from his or her residence, if the parent, spouse or dependent will be with such person on election day.
5. Any person who is sixty-five (65) years of age or older.