JACKSON, MISS– The primaries are set for tomorrow, but before you head to the polls, there are a few things you need to know.
Don’t Forget Your Voter ID
“You can vote of course, and bring your ID back,” says Secretary of State Delbert Hoseman, in the event that you leave your ID, “you can vote absentee and then bring your ID back and your vote will be counted.”
Secretary Hoseman says that in the last election, only about 300 out of 99,000 voters forgot their voter identification. If your voter ID is forgotten, you can still vote, but it won’t be verified until your ID is shown to your circuit clerk.
Register If You Haven’t Already
If you haven’t already registered to vote, you will not be able to vote in this primary election.
“You have to register thirty days before the election,” says Secretary Hoseman, “but we encourage you to go ahead and register now so you can vote in November for governor, attorney general, and so on.”
Know Where to Vote
In the event that you’ve moved or your zone has gone through the process of redistricting, it is possible that where you got to vote has changed.
“We have a poll locator on our website,” says Secretary Hoseman, “but you can also call your circuit clerks office. That’s the most accurate in case something has changed or zones have merged, like in North Mississippi.”
Hoseman adds that if your zone has gone through redistricting, the ballot at the poll where you go to vote will be accurate.
How You Can Vote
This is the primary election which means you can vote in the Republican Primary or the Democratic Primary; you cannot mix and match between the party lines. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to vote for a Republican candidate in another category if that is not the candidate you support.
“You can skip a candidate if you so desire,” says Secretary Hoseman, “vote for the ones you want, and those are the votes that get counted.”
Hoseman says your vote will not be thrown out if a space has been left blank.
News Mississippi will be following the election results as they come in tomorrow. Follow @News_MS on Twitter or the News Mississippi app for Android and iPhone for the latest information.
