The Mississippi Secretary of State’s office said that as of 10 a.m. Monday morning, 46,428 absentee ballots had been requested for the November 27 Runoff Election.
The election includes the U.S. Senate Special race as well as several judicial and state House races. The receipt (not postmark) deadline for mailed absentee ballots is 5 p.m. Monday, November 26, 2018.
RELATED: Important voter info ahead of runoff elections
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Tuesday November 27th. Voters who did not vote in the November 6th General election are still eligible to vote in the runoff and anyone standing in line at 7 p.m., will be able to cast a ballot.
The Secretary of State’s Office will have more than 30 observers in 64 counties across the State. Problems at the polls observed by State observers or otherwise reported to the Elections Division will be referred to the proper authorities, including county Election Commissioners, the Attorney General’s Office, or the appropriate District Attorney’s Office. The Secretary of State’s Office has no enforcement authority to resolve problems.
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said his office has received multiple complaints from voters regarding text messages from campaigns and/or political parties and said his office is not responsible for those messages.
“I’ve received them and I know that other people have received the same messages and complained saying that the people got their number from the voting rolls,” Hosemann said. “That’s inaccurate, we don’t give out telephone numbers. Parties can send you whatever they want to. You have a First Amendment right in Mississippi and in this country so, they are perfectly capable of calling and you can listen to them if you want to or hang up if you don’t.”
Voter phone numbers, if provided on voter registration forms or maintained on the voter roll, are not public information disseminated by the Secretary of State’s Office. Hosemann added that campaigns and political parties should instruct volunteers not to provide misleading information to voters regarding where voter phone numbers are obtained.
Other important information for Runoff Election Day includes:
- UOCAVA Voting: The deadline for UOCAVA voters, including service members deployed outside their county of residence, to return their absentee ballot is 7 p.m. on Runoff Election Day, Tuesday, November 27.
- Polling Place Location: A polling place locator and sample ballot is available on the Secretary of State’s website.
- Voter Photo ID: Voters are required to show photo identification at the polls. A voter without an acceptable form of photo identification is entitled to cast an affidavit ballot. An affidavit ballot may be counted if the voter provides an acceptable form of photo identification to the Circuit Clerk’s Office within five business days after the election.
- Campaigning: It is unlawful to campaign for any candidate on the ballot within 150 feet of any entrance to a polling place, unless on private property.
- Loitering: The polling places should be clear for 30 feet from every entrance of all people except elections officials, voters waiting to vote, or authorized poll watchers.
