How to Vote in Mississippi: Registration, ID, and Absentee

To vote in Mississippi, you need to be a U.S. citizen who is at least 18 by election day, has lived in the state, county, and city for at least 30 days, and is registered on paper at least 30 days before the election. On election day, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and you must show a valid photo ID. Mississippi does not offer online registration, same-day registration, or traditional early voting, so the steps below are the only way in.

Who Can Register

You qualify to register if you meet all of these conditions:¹

You are a United States citizen.
You will be 18 or older on or before election day.
You have lived in Mississippi, your county, and your city or town for at least 30 days before the election.
You have not been convicted of a disenfranchising crime.

Convictions That Block You From Voting

Before you fill out an application, check this list. Mississippi permanently removes voting rights for a long list of convictions that includes murder, rape, statutory rape, bribery, theft, arson, armed robbery, robbery, carjacking, extortion, embezzlement, forgery, perjury, bigamy, larceny (including timber larceny and larceny under lease), receiving stolen property, obtaining money or goods under false pretense, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, felony bad check, felony shoplifting, and voter fraud.²

A conviction for one of these offenses strips the right to vote for life unless rights are specifically restored. The usual route is a suffrage bill passed by a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the Mississippi Legislature, which requires asking your state senator or representative to introduce one on your behalf. The Governor can also restore voting rights by pardon.²

How to Register

Mississippi does not accept online voter registration.³ You register on a paper form, which you can mail to your county Circuit Clerk or drop off in person. The forms are available at Circuit Clerk offices, public libraries, and on the Secretary of State’s website. Under the National Voter Registration Act, you can also register when you apply for or renew a driver’s license at the Department of Public Safety, or at public assistance and disability offices.⁴

The application asks for your full legal name, your physical home address, a mailing address if different, your date of birth, and either your Mississippi driver’s license number or the last four digits of your Social Security number. If you have neither, include a copy of a current photo ID or a document showing your name and address, such as a utility bill or bank statement.⁵ Sign the form. An unsigned or incomplete application is rejected.

Your application has to be postmarked or hand-delivered at least 30 days before the election.⁶ There is no same-day registration, so missing that deadline means waiting until the next election. Once the Circuit Clerk processes your form, a voter registration card arrives in the mail with your polling place and district information.⁷

What ID to Bring

You must show a current, valid photo ID every time you vote in person. The accepted list is broad:⁸

Mississippi driver’s license
U.S. passport
Government employee photo ID from any federal, state, or local entity
Any valid ID card issued by a Mississippi state agency
U.S. military photo ID
Mississippi concealed carry license with your photo
Tribal photo ID
Student photo ID from an accredited Mississippi college, university, or community college
Mississippi Voter Identification Card
Any other current, valid photo ID issued by a U.S. or state government entity

If You Don’t Have One

Any Circuit Clerk’s office will issue a Mississippi Voter Identification Card for free. Bring a document that proves your identity, such as a birth certificate or Social Security card. If you don’t have those either, the clerk can verify your birth information at no cost using your date of birth, birth state, and your mother’s maiden name.⁹

Religious Objection

If you have a religious objection to being photographed, you aren’t required to show a photo ID. You cast an affidavit ballot and then sign a separate affidavit before the Circuit Clerk within five business days after the election.¹⁰

Voting on Election Day

Polls open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 7:00 p.m. If you are in line at 7:00 p.m., you are entitled to vote no matter how long the line takes.¹¹ At your polling place, a poll worker will look up your name, check your photo ID, and have you sign the receipt book before you get your ballot.

If you forgot your ID, you can still cast an affidavit ballot. It only counts if you follow up within five business days by visiting the Circuit Clerk’s office and either showing an acceptable photo ID, getting a free Mississippi Voter Identification Card, or signing a religious objection affidavit.¹² No follow-up means no vote counted. Federal law entitles you to written instructions explaining how to check whether your provisional ballot was counted and, if not, why.¹³

Absentee Voting

Mississippi has no universal mail voting and no traditional early voting. To vote before election day, you need a qualifying reason, and the rules split depending on whether you vote absentee in person or by mail.

In Person at the Circuit Clerk

In-person absentee voting opens at the Circuit Clerk’s office 45 days before the election and closes at noon on the Saturday before a Tuesday election. You qualify if any of the following apply:¹⁴

You will be away from your municipality on election day for any reason.
You have to work or be on call during all hours the polls are open.
You are a student, teacher, or administrator whose school obligations keep you away from your voting municipality, or you are the spouse or dependent of such a person.
You have a temporary or permanent physical disability that makes in-person voting a hardship.
You are 65 or older.
You are the parent, spouse, or dependent of a disabled person hospitalized more than 50 miles from home or outside the municipality, and you will be with that person on election day.

By Mail

Mail absentee voting is open to a smaller group: people temporarily living outside their county, voters with a physical disability, voters 65 or older, people jailed in their county of registration who have not been convicted of a disenfranchising crime, and certain caregivers of hospitalized disabled family members.¹⁵ A mail ballot must be postmarked on or before election day and reach the registrar within five business days after. Anything that arrives later is not counted.¹⁶

Military and Overseas Voters

Active-duty service members, their spouses and dependents, and U.S. citizens living abroad can use the Federal Post Card Application to register and request an absentee ballot in one step. The form asks for your personal information, your last U.S. voting address (which determines where you’re eligible), your current overseas mailing address, and how you want ballot materials delivered. You sign an oath confirming your citizenship and eligibility and submit the form to your local election official by mail; many jurisdictions also accept it by email or fax.¹⁷ Resubmit the FPCA each year you continue to vote from overseas.

Accessibility and Help at the Polls

Federal law requires every polling place to be physically accessible, including for voters who use wheelchairs or have difficulty with stairs, following the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. When a permanent fix isn’t practical, election officials can use temporary measures like portable ramps, and if a site still can’t be made accessible, voting has to be moved or an alternative offered.¹⁸

Mississippi allows curbside voting for voters whose physical disability prevents them from entering the polling place. Contact your local election office ahead of time or ask the poll workers on site.¹¹

If you need help voting because of blindness, a disability, or difficulty reading, federal law lets you bring an assistant of your choice into the voting booth. The only people who cannot serve as your assistant are your employer or your employer’s agent and an officer or agent of your union.¹⁹

1
FindLaw. Mississippi Code Title 23 Elections 23-15-11 – Qualifications of Electors
2
Mississippi Secretary of State. Disenfranchising Crimes in Mississippi
3
U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Mississippi Online Voter Registration
4
Department of Justice. The National Voter Registration Act Of 1993
5
Mississippi Secretary of State. Mississippi Mail-In Voter Registration Application
6
Vote.gov. Register to Vote Mississippi
7
Justia. Mississippi Code 23-15-33 – Registrar to Register Voters
8
Mississippi Secretary of State. Voter ID
9
Mississippi Secretary of State. How to Get a MS Voter ID Card
10
Mississippi Secretary of State. Exemptions
11
Justia. Mississippi Code 23-15-541 – Hours Polls to Be Open
12
FindLaw. Mississippi Code Title 23 Elections 23-15-573 – Affidavit Ballots
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 21082 – Provisional Voting and Voting Information Requirements
14
Mississippi Secretary of State. Absentee Voting Information
15
FindLaw. Mississippi Code Title 23 Elections 23-15-715
16
FindLaw. Mississippi Code Title 23 Elections 23-15-637
17
Federal Voting Assistance Program. Federal Post Card Application (FPCA)
18
ADA.gov. ADA Checklist for Polling Places
19
United States Department of Justice. Statutes Enforced By The Voting Section