VOTING AND VOTER REGISTRATION

 

Registration Qualifications 

Every U.S. citizen who possesses the following qualifications is eligible to register to vote in Mississippi:

• A resident of Mississippi and the county, city, or town for 30 days prior to the election
• At least 18 years old (or will be 18 by the date of the next General Election)
• Not declared mentally incompetent by a court
• Not convicted of a disenfranchising crime

 

Register in Person

You must register to vote at least 30 days before the date of the election. If the 30^th day falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline is extended until the next business day.

 

You may register to vote in person at any of the following locations:

• Circuit Clerk’s Office
• Municipal Clerk’s Office
• Department of Public Safety
• Any state or federal agency offering government services, such as the Department of Human Services

 

Register by Mail

Complete a Mail-In Voter Registration Application, which is available at the circuit clerk’s office, municipal clerk’s office, public library and other participating government offices. Applications may also be downloaded from yallvote.sos.ms.gov.

 

If you do not provide your driver’s license number or the last four digits of your Social Security number with your application, you must send with your application:

• A copy of a current and valid photo ID
• A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address

 

Send your Mail-In Voter Registration Application to the circuit clerk’s office located in the county of your residence. Applications must be postmarked 30 days before the date of the election. If the 30th day falls on a Sunday or legal holiday, then both the postmark and in-person deadline is extended to the next regular business day.

 

Absentee Ballot

Some registered voters are eligible to vote by an absentee ballot because of age, health, work demands, temporary relocation for educational purposes, or their affiliation with the U.S. Armed Forces. Please check with your circuit or municipal clerk to determine if you are entitled to vote by absentee ballot and learn the procedure for doing so. If you know you will vote by an absentee ballot, you may contact the circuit or municipal clerk’s office at any time within 45 days of the election.

 

Voters included within the Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), such as members of the military and overseas citizens, may register to vote and request an absentee ballot by Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). UOCAVA voters may register to vote using the FPCA up until ten days before the date of an election and may receive and return an absentee ballot by mail, email, or fax. For more information, call the Secretary of State’s Election Hotline at 1 (800) 829-6786 or visit its website at www.yallvote.sos.ms.gov

 

Your Rights as a Voter

Every qualified Mississippi elector is entitled to vote regardless of race, creed, color, or disability.

•  No one may refuse a person the right to vote if that person is legally entitled to vote.
• No voter shall be threatened, intimidated, or paid to vote by any person.
• Voters whose names do not appear on the poll book or who do not have an acceptable form of photo ID are entitled to vote by affidavit ballot.
• Voters who cast an affidavit ballot are entitled to receive written information at the time of voting on how to determine if the vote was counted and, if not, why not.
• Voters who require assistance in marking the ballot are entitled to receive help from a person of the voter’s choice, excluding a candidate, the immediate family of a candidate, a poll watcher or the voter’s employer or union agent. Some exceptions may apply to the above.

 

Where to Vote

After registering to vote, your Voter Registration Card will be sent to your residence/mailing address provided on your application.  Your Voter Registration Card will provide the name, location, and number of the precinct in which you will vote. You may contact the Newton County Circuit Clerk’s Office at 601-635-3368 for more information. Polls are open each Election Day from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

 

 

 Voter ID

All Mississippi voters casting a ballot in person at the polls or casting an absentee ballot in the circuit or municipal clerk’s office must present one of the following forms of acceptable photo ID:

• A driver’s license
• A government issued photo ID card
• A United States passport
• A government employee photo identification card
• A firearms license
• A student photo ID issued by an accredited Mississippi university, college, or community/junior college
• A United States military photo ID
• A tribal photo ID
• Any other photo ID issued by any branch, department, agency or entity of the United States government or any state government
• A Mississippi Voter Identification Card

 

If you do not present an acceptable form of photo ID or are unable to do so because of a religious objection, you are entitled to cast an affidavit ballot. A voter casting an affidavit ballot because of religious objection may not have his/her ballot rejected for this reason if he/she completes an Affidavit of Religious Objection in the circuit or municipal clerk’s office within five business days after Election Day. 

 

A voter casting an affidavit ballot because he/she did not present an acceptable form of photo ID may not have his/her ballot rejected for this reason if he/she presents an acceptable form of photo ID in the circuit or municipal clerk’s office within five business days after Election Day.

 

Locals know this interesting spot by its simple description as “where the water crosses the road.” It’s located on Stamper Pond Road in the northern part of the county.