With a little over two weeks remaining until Mississippi’s general election, over 23,000 absentee ballots have been requested.
According to the Statewide Election Management System (SEMS), 23,321 absentee ballots were requested with 15,858 of those already being filled out and received for the upcoming statewide elections.
The SEMS report went on to add that the number of absentee ballots requested reflects the number of Mississippi voters that asked for a ballot through their local circuit clerk’s office while the received total shows the number of completed ballots that were returned.
In all, approximately 7,463 absentee ballots that were sent out from circuit clerk offices throughout the Magnolia State have not yet been returned.
Currently, the secretary of state’s office is reminding residents that county circuit clerks are consistently receiving requests for absentee ballots and processing those requests, which will cause a difference in the number of those requested and sent due to continuous processing.
Absentee ballots will be accepted or rejected by the resolution board. Both columns will not reflect the actual number of accepted or rejected ballots until after the election.
All mail-in absentee ballots must be postmarked by Election Day on November 7 and received within five business days of Election Day in order to count. The resolution board can begin processing absentee ballots at 7:00 a.m. on Election Day and county election officials can tabulate ballots at the closing of the polls at 7:00 p.m.
My Election Day Tool
Secretary of State Michael Watson has also released that residents voting in person with an absentee ballot can receive personalized election information through the My Election Day resource.
Upon entering a specific address, Mississippi voters can receive a sample ballot specific to their residence, polling place location, deadlines for upcoming elections, and a list of the current elected officials from federal down to county. Absentee and affidavit ballot tracking is another feature available on My Election Day, not only as a resource for Mississippians but as an additional election security measure.
For those eligible to vote absentee or who vote by affidavit, each step of the process may be monitored from the time the application has been received to what happens with the ballot after Election Day.
