Mississippi ‘s absentee ballot procedures will restrict voters in runoff election

After no Senate candidate in Mississippi received a majority of the vote in the 2018 midterm elections, a runoff election was scheduled for November 27, 2018. However, the procedures in place for absentee ballots during this runoff election are problematic and could exclude eligible Mississippi voters.

At the very earliest, absentee ballots for the race will only be available on Saturday, November 17th; this means out-of-state voters may not get their ballots until the day before Thanksgiving (November 21) or the day after the holiday (November 23). Because the deadline for returning ballots is 5 p.m. on Monday, November 26, it will be impossible for many voters to get their ballots back in time without paying a high price to overnight their ballots, if they even receive their absentee ballot in time to return it.

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law sent a letter to Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann with specific requests to remedy this injustice. The recommended actions include extending the deadline to accept absentee ballots that were postmarked on or before November 27 — the date of the runoff election — as well as issuing new guidelines to accept voter requests by email, in addition to requests made in-person, via mail, or over the telephone. The Lawyers’ Committee also recommends that circuit clerks issue ballots from the November 6, 2018 election with the other races redacted until the runoff ballots are printed and ready for use.

The integrity of our elections depends on a process that is fair, free, and equally accessible to all.

Voters with questions or who encounter any problems can call the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE for assistance.