Student Voting Project | Mississippi

Voting at School

ID Requirements

Only a very small number of Mississippi voters must how ID. These are first-time voters who register by mail and whose identifying numbers—a Mississippi driver’s license number, or a non-driver ID card number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number—can’t be verified by the state. These voters can either include a photocopy of their ID with their registration form, or show ID at the polls. Acceptable ID includes a Mississippi driver’s license, a current and valid student ID that has your picture, or any of the following documents that shows your name and current Mississippi address: a utility bill, including a cell phone bill or a student housing bill, a paycheck, or another government document.

Registration Requirements

The registration deadline is 30 days before the election, and if you mail in your registration form, it must be postmarked by then.

Residency Requirements

Students who have a bona fide intent to make their school address their home should be able to establish voting residency in Mississippi. You have to have "a bona fide, unqualified intent to make the place of occupancy or residence on the college or university campus [your] home."

The county registrar has the initial right to deny your registration on the basis of your residency. If this happens, Mississippi law provides for an automatic review of that decision by the county board of election commissioners, prior to Election Day. Or you can appeal the decision yourself to the county board of election commissioners, in writing, within five days after your registration is denied. You'll get a hearing before the commissioners, where you can present witnesses or other evidence. If the commissioners decide against you, you can challenge that decision in court. Your registration can also be challenged by another voter, who must give you notice and who can only challenge your registration within five days, following the same procedure.

Students who lived in Mississippi prior to attending school and who wish to establish or keep their Mississippi voting residency (i.e., at their parents' Mississippi address) should have no problem doing so, unless they've already registered to vote in another state.  Like all states, Mississippi allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the county or state to attend school. The only way you might lose this residency is if you "abandon" it by asserting residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered an abandonment of your Mississippi residency, some judges or officials might view it as such.

You can be challenged at the polls based on your residency by a poll worker, another voter, or a partisan challenger. If you're challenged, the poll workers will consider the challenge. If they unanimously decide the challenge is proper, you'll vote a "rejected" ballot that will not be counted. Or, if they unanimously decide the challenge is frivolous or made in bad faith, you'll be allowed to cast a regular ballot. In all other cases, you'll be allowed to cast a ballot marked "challenged," which may or may not be counted at the end of the day, at the discretion of the poll workers.

Absentee Requirement

Students who will be away from their county of residence attending college are eligible to vote absentee in Mississippi. You can apply for an absentee ballot by mail if you’re temporarily residing outside your home county, but your mail-in application will have to be notarized. There’s no formal deadline for your application, but you should leave enough time to get your ballot mailed back to you and for you to mail your completed ballot back to the county. If you applied for your absentee ballot by mail, you must also have your actual ballot notarized. Your absentee ballot must be received by the registrar by 5 p.m. on the day before the election.

Voting at Home

ID Requirements

Only a very small number of Mississippi voters must how ID. These are first-time voters who register by mail and whose identifying numbers—a Mississippi driver’s license number, or a non-driver ID card number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number—can’t be verified by the state. These voters can either include a photocopy of their ID with their registration form, or show ID at the polls. Acceptable ID includes a Mississippi driver’s license, a current and valid student ID that has your picture, or any of the following documents that shows your name and current Mississippi address: a utility bill, including a cell phone bill or a student housing bill, a paycheck, or another government document.

Registration Requirements

The registration deadline is 30 days before the election, and if you mail in your registration form, it must be postmarked by then.

Residency Requirements

Students who have a bona fide intent to make their school address their home should be able to establish voting residency in Mississippi. You have to have "a bona fide, unqualified intent to make the place of occupancy or residence on the college or university campus [your] home."

The county registrar has the initial right to deny your registration on the basis of your residency. If this happens, Mississippi law provides for an automatic review of that decision by the county board of election commissioners, prior to Election Day. Or you can appeal the decision yourself to the county board of election commissioners, in writing, within five days after your registration is denied. You'll get a hearing before the commissioners, where you can present witnesses or other evidence. If the commissioners decide against you, you can challenge that decision in court. Your registration can also be challenged by another voter, who must give you notice and who can only challenge your registration within five days, following the same procedure.

Students who lived in Mississippi prior to attending school and who wish to establish or keep their Mississippi voting residency (i.e., at their parents' Mississippi address) should have no problem doing so, unless they've already registered to vote in another state.  Like all states, Mississippi allows students to keep their voting residency even if they move out of the county or state to attend school. The only way you might lose this residency is if you "abandon" it by asserting residency in a new state. While registering to vote in another state is not automatically considered an abandonment of your Mississippi residency, some judges or officials might view it as such.

You can be challenged at the polls based on your residency by a poll worker, another voter, or a partisan challenger. If you're challenged, the poll workers will consider the challenge. If they unanimously decide the challenge is proper, you'll vote a "rejected" ballot that will not be counted. Or, if they unanimously decide the challenge is frivolous or made in bad faith, you'll be allowed to cast a regular ballot. In all other cases, you'll be allowed to cast a ballot marked "challenged," which may or may not be counted at the end of the day, at the discretion of the poll workers.

Absentee Requirement

Students who will be away from their county of residence attending college are eligible to vote absentee in Mississippi. You can apply for an absentee ballot by mail if you’re temporarily residing outside your home county, but your mail-in application will have to be notarized. There’s no formal deadline for your application, but you should leave enough time to get your ballot mailed back to you and for you to mail your completed ballot back to the county. If you applied for your absentee ballot by mail, you must also have your actual ballot notarized. Your absentee ballot must be received by the registrar by 5 p.m. on the day before the election.

[1] See 1991 Miss. AG LEXIS 791 (Miss. AG 1991) (reaffirming earlier opinion); Interview with Robbie Vance, Division of Elections, Mississippi Secretary of State (July 22, 2008).

[2] Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-43.

[3] Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-61.

[4] Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-69.

[5] Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-71.

[6] Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-63.

[7] Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-571(1) (2008); Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-577 (2008); Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-579 (2008); Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-571(3) (2008).

[8] Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-579 (2008); see also Misso v. Oliver, 666 So. 2d 1366 (Miss. 1996).

[9] Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-47(a).

[10] C.M.S.R. 21-000-021.

[11] CMSR 21-000-021.  Interview with Division of Elections, Mississippi Secretary of State (July 22, 2008).

[12] Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-713.

[13] Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-715(b).

[14] Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-721(1).