Hurricane Zeta made landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, causing damage and massive power outages along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. With the in-person absentee voting deadline quickly approaching and Election Day right around the corner, our office is working diligently to ensure local county officials have access to the help they need.
“We’ve stressed the importance of teamwork from day one, and it’s paying dividends in the aftermath of Hurricane Zeta,” said Secretary Watson. “I am proud of the hard work and dedication I’m seeing from our Circuit Clerks, first responders, utility providers, and our office. We will continue working together to make sure Mississippians voices are clearly heard on November 3rd.”
Our Elections Division received the following update from Circuit Clerk Offices in the lower coastal counties.
- George – The Circuit Clerk’s Office has power and is operating as usual.
- Greene – The Circuit Clerk’s Office is currently without power, but absentee voting is still available.
- Hancock – The Circuit Clerk’s Office is without power but remains open.
- Harrison – The Circuit Clerk’s Office is currently without power and will remain closed today so local officials can assess damage from the storm. The Circuit Clerk’s Office in Gulfport is open for absentee voting only. Voters are asked to use the West entrance.
- Jackson – The Circuit Clerk’s Office has power and is operating as usual.
- Pearl River – The Circuit Clerk’s Office has power and is operating as usual.
- Perry – The Circuit Clerk’s Office has power and is operating as usual.
- Stone – The Circuit Clerk’s Office has power and is operating as usual.
All counties are assessing storm damage at polling places for Election Day (Tuesday, November 3rd). Officials with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) reached out to offer support and will be on standby to respond to any county needing assistance before, on, or after Election Day.
Under Mississippi’s Armed Services Absentee Voting Law, any voter serving as a trained or certified emergency response provider on Election Day qualifies as a Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) voter and may vote absentee. For more information regarding how to cast a UOCAVA ballot, please contact your county election officials or email UOCAVA@sos.ms.gov.
Secretary Watson remains in constant communication with leadership at Mississippi Power, Singing River Electric Cooperative Company, Coast Electric Power Association, Entergy, CSpire, AT&T and Sparklight. We will continue to provide guidance and assistance to county election officials and will issue another update once we’ve received more information.
Press Release
10/30/2020
Magnolia Tribune
