Primaries for statewide, state district, legislative, county and county district offices will take place Aug. 6. Necessary run-offs —which will only take place if a candidate does not have a majority in the first primary—will be Aug. 27.

General elections will be Nov. 5.

Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for all three elections.

Voting in Person

Since Mississippi voters are not registered by party, you can vote for any candidate in the first primary. Just go to the table for the party you wish to vote for. However, note that once a vote is cast for a party, you have to vote for the same party in a runoff election—if you choose to vote again.

If you did not vote in the first primary, you can still vote in the run-off.

Since June 2014, voters are required to show identification at the polling place; it can be a driver’s license or any government-issued picture ID. Out-of-state licenses are accepted. Expired licenses are also accepted so long as they are not more than 10 years old.

You do not need to bring your voter registration card. It does, however, help poll workers and show you your correct voting precinct.

Be sure to vote in the right precinct or it will not count. If you’ve moved or will move before the election, the circuit clerk’s office needs to be notified—even if you only changed apartments within the same complex.

It is not legal to vote at your old precinct location.

A ballot counts even if the voter abstains from certain races. It would be possible to only vote for the next governor while ignoring every other race, for example.

Write-ins do not count. The write-in space on ballots is a safeguard in case a listed candidate is no longer eligible—if they died before the vote, for example.

For more information about voting, visit www.sos.ms.gov/Vote, or contact your local circuit clerk’s office.

Lauderdale County: 601-482-9731.

Newton County: 601-635-2368. 

Neshoba County: 601-656-4781.

Clarke County: 601-776-3111. 

Kemper County: 601-743-2224.