Secretary of State Michael Watson has issued an update regarding the 2022 Mississippi Primary Elections which were held on Tuesday.
Although the Secretary of State’s Office was notified that miscommunication amongst election officials caused some precincts to open late, no other statewide issues were reported.
In addition, the Secretary’s cybersecurity team did not detect any suspicious activity on the websites or the Statewide Election Management Systems (SEMS).
“It’s essential for my team and me to be active participants in the ongoing mission of safe and secure elections, which is why we placed state observers in more than 60 counties on Election Day,” Watson said. “As I traveled to precincts in all four congressional districts, I was pleased to see our laws being followed and applied by friendly poll workers. Thank you again to all who helped make Election Day a success.”
To date, a reported 9,546 absentee ballots were requested and 8,362 were received according to SEMS. Affidavit ballots were also received from voters who did not have an acceptable form of identification.
For absentee ballots to count, they must have been postmarked on or before Election Day. Circuit Clerk offices must have these ballots by 5 p. m. on Tuesday, June 14.
Further, for affidavit ballots to count, voters must visit their local Circuit Court’s Office and show an acceptable form of identification by June 14. Applications to receive a free Mississippi Voter ID card are available at all Circuit Court Offices in the state.
State executive committees have until Friday, June 17 to send certified election results to the Secretary of State’s office. All elections that resulted in a runoff will be held on Tuesday, June 28.
