Voting in Mississippi
General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
At a glance
You must register before the deadline below.
Without photo ID, vote an affidavit ballot and show photo ID at the circuit clerk's office within 5 days after the election. No ID? Ask your election office whether it offers a free one for voting. First-time voters who registered by mail may need to show ID under federal law.
Excuses: age 65+, temporarily/permanently disabled, absent from county on Election Day, work shift during polling hours (in person only), students/teachers away, others Return deadline: postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov 10 (5 business days after); upheld in Watson v. RNC.
No early in-person voting; excuse-qualified in-person absentee at circuit clerk's office until noon Oct 31
People convicted of any of 23 listed 'disenfranchising crimes' (e.g. murder, theft, bribery, forgery) lose the vote for life unless pardoned or restored by a bill of the Legislature.
Deadlines
| Step | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Register by mail | Monday, October 5 | |
| Register in person | Monday, October 5 | |
| Election Day | Tuesday, November 3 | Polls close times vary; check your state. |
Mail ballot request: No fixed state deadline for mail requests; in-person absentee ends noon Oct 31 (Saturday before). Mail ballot return: postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov 10 (5 business days after); upheld in Watson v. RNC.
Where the road gets harder
Every rule is a cost, and it doesn't fall on everyone the same. A deadline, a document or a trip to an office is easy for some people and a real obstacle for others: people who work hourly jobs, move often, live far from an office, don't drive, or have a disability. Here is what that looks like in Mississippi.
- Registration closes before Election Day (in person: Monday, October 5). Miss it and you can't vote in this election. If you've moved, your registration may need updating by then too.
- Registration isn't automatic. Each person has to sign up on their own, which leaves out people who don't know the rules or move often.
- There's no online registration. Signing up means a paper form by mail or a trip to an office.
- Without an accepted ID, your ballot is provisional. It only counts if you make a second trip to an election office with ID, within a few days and during office hours.
- You need an accepted reason to vote by mail. Excuses: age 65+, temporarily/permanently disabled, absent from county on Election Day, work shift during polling hours (in person only), students/teachers away, others. Everyone else votes in person.
- A mail ballot envelope needs a witness or notary signature, an extra step that is harder for people who live alone or are homebound.
- There's no early in-person voting open to everyone, so most people who vote in person have to do it on a Tuesday, a workday.
- After a felony conviction: People convicted of any of 23 listed 'disenfranchising crimes' (e.g. murder, theft, bribery, forgery) lose the vote for life unless pardoned or restored by a bill of the Legislature.
- The Sentencing Project estimated in 2024 that 68,731 people in Mississippi (3.08% of the voting-eligible population, and 5.37% of Black voting-eligible residents) could not vote because of a felony conviction.Source: The Sentencing Project, Locked Out 2024
- Mississippi's constitution imposes a lifetime voting ban for convictions of certain crimes, including theft, forgery and bribery; a federal appeals court let it stand in 2024.Source: ABA Journal
News from Mississippi
Recent election, voting and policy headlines that mention Mississippi, newest first. They are found automatically and not checked: a headline shows what someone published, not that it is true.
News appears here once the news feed is connected.
Official links
Mississippi Secretary of State. These go straight to the government, not to us.
Sources
Checked October 12, 2026. Laws and court rulings change, sometimes close to an election. If anything here disagrees with your state or county election office, they are right and we are wrong; please tell us.
- https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/voter-registration-deadlines
- https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/online-voter-registration
- https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/automatic-voter-registration
- https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/same-day-voter-registration
- https://www.usvotefoundation.org/mississippi-election-dates-and-deadlines
- https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/table-11-receipt-and-postmark-deadlines-for-absentee-mail-ballots
- https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/early-in-person-voting
- https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/table-2-excuses-to-vote-absentee
- https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/table-3-states-with-permanent-absentee-voting-lists
- https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/table-14-how-states-verify-voted-absentee-mail-ballots
- https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/voter-id
- https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/felon-voting-rights
- https://www.wlbt.com/2026/04/01/gov-reeves-signs-bill-require-verifying-citizenship-when-registering-people-vote
- https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/04/01/florida-south-dakota-utah-enact-proof-of-citizenship-laws-for-voter-registration/
- https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/states-already-enacting-harmful-save-act-policies-requiring-proof
- https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/locked-out-2024-four-million-denied-voting-rights-due-to-a-felony-conviction/
- https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lifetime-voting-ban-for-felony-convictions-isnt-punishment-5th-circuit-says-in-eighth-amendment-challenge