Mississippi residents planning to submit an absentee ballot ahead of the Nov. 5 election will be able to cast their vote at local circuit clerk offices over the next two Saturdays.
Circuit clerk offices will be open from 8 a.m. until noon on Oct. 26 and Nov. 2 for those who cannot vote absentee in person during the weekdays. Otherwise, voters can cast in-person absentee ballots on Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Those who are eligible to vote absentee in person in Mississippi and will be absent from their county of residence on Election Day include:
- Enlisted or commissioned members of the U.S. military, their spouses, and dependents.
- Members of the Merchant Marines or the American Red Cross, their spouses, and dependents.
- Disabled war veterans who are patients in any hospital, their spouses, and dependents.
- Trained or certified emergency response providers set to be deployed at the time of the election, whether through a state of emergency declared by the president or governor.
- Students, teachers, or administrators whose employment or studies necessitate their absence.
- Parents, spouses, or dependents of someone having a temporary or permanent physical disability that requires hospitalization outside their county of residence.
- People temporarily residing out of state.
- People required to be at work during polling hours.
- People temporarily or permanently disabled.
- People 65 years or older.
- Members of the Mississippi Congressional delegation, their spouses, and dependents.
As of Monday, the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office was reporting a total of 86,525 absentee ballots requested, 84,636 sent, and 67,802 completed and returned. For those voting absentee through the mail, ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received by the voter’s local circuit clerk’s office within five business days of the election to count.
For those voting on Nov. 5, polls will be open across the state from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. A sample ballot and other information on voting absentee can be found here.
