The deadline to register to vote in the November 3 general election is Monday, October 5; exactly two weeks away. What can you do right now to be prepared for the polls? Check out the voting information from our 2020 Voter Guide below. You can view the full 2020 Voter Guide here.

We also want to hear from you about your voting plans. Please take a moment to fill out our quick survey at the bottom of the page. You can skip ahead to the survey here.

Register to vote.

Don’t know if you’re registered?  Search your name on the Secretary of State’s website and find out if you are registered.

Not registered? The deadline to register to vote in the general election is October 5, 2020 at 5:00 pm.

Applicants who register in-person in the Circuit Clerks’ Offices no later than 5:00 p.m. and those who mail registration applications post-marked no later than October 5 are eligible to vote in the November General Elections. Apply through the Secretary of State’s Office.

APPLY HERE

Know where to vote.

Find your polling place by visiting the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office and entering your address.

FIND YOUR POLLING PLACE

Know what to bring.

What do you need to bring to your polling place or to the Circuit Clerk’s office for absentee voting? Visit the Secretary of State’s list of acceptable forms of ID and find out if you need a Mississippi Voter Identification Card.

VIEW HERE

Mark your calendar.

Mark your calendar for the General Election day, Tuesday, November 3. Make sure to set a notification so you’re reminded in advance. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

ADD TO CALENDAR

What about early voting?

Mississippi is among the minority of states that do not allow no excuse early voting.

To vote early in Mississippi, a person must be away from home on election day, over age 65 or must have a permanent or temporary disability. During 2020, a person can vote early if under physician-imposed quarantine because of COVID-19 or taking care of someone under a physician-imposed quarantine.

*Lawsuits are currently ongoing over exactly who can vote early under the coronavirus exception.

Absentee voting, in person or by mail, begins today, Sept. 21, in Mississippi.

The absentee ballot became available today, Sept. 21, at the local circuit clerk’s offices. The local circuit clerks also take absentee or early voting requests.

People voting early in person can do so at the local circuit clerks’ offices. People voting early by mail can obtain a ballot request by contacting the local circuit clerks.

The ballot application must be filled out and notarized. When returned, if eligible, the person will then receive a ballot. The ballot also must be notarized under state law.

The mail ballots must be postmarked by the day of the election and must arrive in the circuit clerk’s office no more than five days after the election.

We want to hear from you. Take our quick voting survey:

The post Are you planning to vote? Mississippi’s deadline to register is two weeks from today. appeared first on Mississippi Today.

(Charles A. Smith/University Communications)

Deion Sanders was all dressed up in JSU colors just before his introduction.

Yes, winning the introductory news conference is a real thing in 2020. And Deion Sanders, introduced as head football coach at Jackson State on Monday morning, knocked his out of the park like a 450-foot, walk-off grand slam home run.

Clearly, he is, not for nothing, known as Prime Time.

Dressed in a blue sports coat with red buttons, Sanders killed it is what he did, drawing loud cheers from the socially distanced crowd in the Lee E. Williams Athletic and Assembly Center. He spoke with the fervor of a Baptist minister and received more than a few “Amens.” He shed tears. Then he flashed that wide smile. He even invoked a call and response toward the end.

Rick Cleveland .

“Do you believe?” he shouted to his audience.

“We believe,” they shouted back.

On a scale of 1 to 10 for enthusiasm, he was a solid 12. JSU faithful ate it up.

He promised much: to bring Jackson State football back to prominence, to win the SWAC, to successfully recruit players recruited by power five conference teams, to help recruit for all the other JSU athletic programs, to play hard, fast, tough disciplined football, to look good winning and to win professionally.

“I have a commitment to excellence. I believe this is going to be a marriage made in heaven,” Sanders said.

Now then, comes the hard part: Doing it.

(Charles A. Smith/University Communications)

Deion Sanders lived up to his Prime Time nickname Monday.

His job is to rebuild a once proud program that hasn’t experienced a winning season since 2013. The combined record of the last three JSU head coaches over the past five seasons: 21 victories, 40 defeats.

Sanders has to hire a staff, which he has never done before. He has to be the CEO of a team, which he has never done before at this level. He has to supervise an offense, a defense and special teams, which he has never done before, at least at the college level. He has to recruit, which he has never done before (again, at least at the college level).

All this Sanders must do with resources that are minimal and in facilities that are lacking.

You should know Sanders was in the Jackson area in August as the offensive coordinator at Trinity Christian (near Dallas), when Trinity played at Madison Ridgeland Academy. Trinity was led by quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion Sanders’ son, a four-star recruit who has committed to Florida Atlantic over Alabama, Florida State, Georgia and others.

MRA, the defending state private schools champion, won the game, scoring late for a thrilling 27-26 victory. I watched it. Both teams appeared well-coached until a questionable decision late in the game. Trinity led 26-20 with under two minutes remaining, needing only to run out the clock behind a big, physical offensive line to win. Instead, on second and seven (from their own 23) the visitors ran a risky reverse, fumbled and MRA recovered and went in for the winning score.

On the other hand, with Sanders calling the plays, Trinity has averaged 46 points a game in the four games since. And, no, we don’t know yet whether or not Shedeur Sanders, clearly a big-time talent, will follow his father to JSU.

We do know from multiple news reports that Deion Sanders was previously involved with another coaching job at another private Texas high school. In fact, Prime Prep Academy, a grouping of charter schools in north Texas, was co-founded by Deion Sanders in 2012. It did not end well. After numerous and well-publicized problems, the school was closed in January of 2015 due to financial insolvency.

Of course, none of that mattered to Jackson State faithful Monday morning when Deion Sanders added to the lengthy list of Pro Football Hall of Famers associated with JSU. The school of Walter Payton, Jackie Slater, Robert Brazile and Lem Barney is now also the school of Deion Sanders.

Winning the introductory press conference does not count in the standings. But for the man known as Prime Time, it was a promising start.

The post Prime Time aced his introduction to JSU. Now comes the really, really hard part. appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Coach Deion Sanders, welcome to the home of interesting coaches.

The post Marshall Ramsey: Our State’s Coaches Are More Interesting Than Your Coaches. appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Lucien Smith, chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, speaks as early results come in at a state GOP election night victory party, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Lucien Smith on Monday announced he’s stepping down as Mississippi Republican Party chairman, with Gov. Tate Reeves backing Coast businessman Frank Bordeaux to replace him.

Smith said Monday he intends to call a state GOP Executive Committee meeting to elect a new chair.

The move was not unexpected. Numerous Republican sources in July told Mississippi Today that Reeves, as new de facto head of the party in his first term as governor, wanted new leadership. It’s typical for a sitting Republican governor, as head of the state party, to pick a new chairman. While the executive committee technically elects a GOP chairman, a governor’s choice is typically installed by acclamation. There has been no major executive committee challenge to a Republican governor’s chairman nomination in recent history.

“All Republicans should be grateful for Lucien Smith’s steady stewardship of the party,” Reeves said in a statement on Monday. “He has been a great chairman, and will continue to be an important figure in Mississippi.”

“I support Frank Bordeaux, and believe that if the Committee chooses to elect him that he will do an excellent job growing the Republican Party,” Reeves said. “His work ethic, integrity, and conservative credentials are unmatched.”

Frank Bordeaux

Bordeaux, an insurance executive, was chair of Reeves’ Harrison County campaign committee, and a strong showing on the Coast was crucial to Reeves winning last year’s GOP primary and general election. The governor recently appointed Bordeaux to a commission that came up with a new design for the state flag that will go before voters for an up-or-down vote on Nov. 3.

The change in state party leadership, some GOP leaders said, was not because of any major political dispute, and Smith has appeared to be widely respected among party leaders. It’s partly because Smith is an attorney at a major law firm that does millions of dollars in business with the state and Reeves believes that is untoward and wanted a chairman with no such entanglements.

Reeves and Smith did appear to be politically crosswise recently over the Legislature changing the state flag, with its divisive Confederate battle emblem. Although the party proper didn’t take a position, Smith told Mississippi Today, “Now is the time … for Mississippi to retire its current flag and adopt a flag that unifies all Mississippians.”

Reeves, at the time, had opposed the Legislature making the change, saying that decision should be made by popular vote.

Smith on Monday said serving as GOP chair “has been the greatest honor of my professional life and I am proud of what we have achieved.”

Former Gov. Phil Bryant nominated Smith as the 12th chairman of the MSGOP in 2017 after then-Chairman Joe Nosef abruptly resigned.

Smith, an attorney with Balch and Bingham law firm, previously served as chief of staff to Bryant and as counsel and budget adviser to former Gov. Haley Barbour. Smith ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 2011.

Smith was at the helm of the party during one of its most politically prosperous times. In last year’s elections, Republicans took all eight statewide elected seats including the the governor’s office, most districtwide seats and increased their supermajority control over the Legislature.

Smith said: “The Republican Party is as strong as it has ever been in Mississippi, and the state is better for it.  After three years in this role, I believe it is time for a new chairman … Frank is a friend and a strong Republican. I’m confident the party will continue to prosper under his leadership.”

The post Lucien Smith out as MSGOP chair; Gov. Reeves backs Gulf Coast businessman to replace him appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Kayleigh Skinner, Mississippi Today

House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, speaks to reporters after the 2018 legislative session ended.

House Speaker Philip Gunn said his pending lawsuit against Gov. Tate Reeves over the governor’s partial veto of a bill spending federal COVID-19 relief funds is “an unfortunate situation,” but important to pursue on precedent.

“It sets a precedent, if we allow this type of veto to stand, when there is case law as I understand it going back maybe 100 years that says this is not a proper veto,” Gunn said Monday. “I went to the governor after the vetoes, and said if I knew of another avenue to take, I would take it … What we have here is an infringement of the executive branch into the duties of the legislative branch. We are just looking for the court to uphold the law.”

Gunn addressed the Stennis Institute of Government and Capitol Press Corps in an online forum on Monday. The Republican speaker covered numerous topics, including the lawsuit he and Speaker Pro Tem Jason White filed in early August over Reeves’ line-item vetoes. Reeves vetoed about $8 million in legislative spending for Mississippi hospitals and other health care providers from federal funds the state received for COVID-19. The governor also vetoed much of the annual budget for K-12 education, but lawmakers have since returned and overridden that veto.

The state constitution provides the governor with partial veto authority, but court rulings over many years have held that authority is very narrow and have typically sided with the Legislature. The Legislature is given authority over state spending in the constitution, and Gunn and others said Reeves’ vetoes of specific spending infringes on that authority.

Gunn said both sides have agreed that the facts of the case are not in dispute, and that they agreed to try the case based only on filed briefs, not oral arguments. The case is before Hinds County Chancery Court, but likely to be appealed by either side to the state Supreme Court.

Reeves, who has clashed early and often with lawmakers in his first term as governor, primarily over spending authority for federal COVID-19 money, has called the lawsuit “yet another power grab by some members of the House.”

In the Stennis forum on Monday, Gunn also:

• Said lawmakers will return in session sometime before Oct. 5. He said the main order of business will be evaluating federal COVID-19 relief spending and programs. He said much of the spending faces a late-December deadline and lawmakers will evaluate how much has been spent on various programs and whether money left at that point should be shifted or redirected. He said the return to session will be “very focused, and very narrow.”
• Praised legislative colleagues for the historic vote to remove the state’s embattled Confederate-themed flag. Gunn has been the staunchest, and at times only, state Republican leader to advocate removing the 1894 state flag with its divisive Confederate battle emblem. In June, the Legislature voted to remove the flag, and voters in November will vote whether to ratify a new design. Gunn said he didn’t “twist arms” to get the historic vote in the House, but that his colleagues realized they wanted to be “on the right side of history.”
• Said the state budget is in surprisingly good shape, given the pandemic. A recent report shows that through the first two months of the new fiscal year, state revenue is up $259 million, or about 35%, above collections for the same period last year. Gunn said the state is still in unchartered territory with the pandemic and may face more fiscal challenges, but he chalks the current stability to past frugality by the Legislature. This week, lawmakers will hold budget hearings, starting the process of setting next fiscal year’s budget.
• Said lawmakers are not likely to address medical marijuana or expanding early voting opportunities as a pandemic safeguard before the Nov. 3 elections. Voters will choose between dueling constitutional amendments on medical marijuana — or reject both.
• Said he is aware of no pending legislative push to make changes before the election. Mississippi’s absentee and other voting laws are among the most restrictive in the nation. Most states have expanded early voting to avoid long lines or crowded conditions at polls during the pandemic. Mississippi has not.

The post Speaker Gunn: Lawsuit over Gov. Reeves vetoes ‘unfortunate,’ but necessary appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith has a slight 41% to 40% lead over Democratic challenger Mike Espy in a poll released Monday morning by the Tyson Group.

The same pollster had Hyde-Smith up on Espy 54% to 28% in March.

The Tyson Group  recently conducted polls in Gulf Coast states for the Consumer Energy Alliance on the issue of offshore drilling. FiveThirtyEight, which rates national pollsters, gives Tyson a B/C grade.

In addition to asking questions on offshore drilling, which was supported by a majority of respondents in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi, the poll also surveyed political issues. It is one of few public surveys in the 2020 election cycle that polled voters about the Hyde-Smith vs. Espy race.

The poll provides the best showing yet for Espy, the former congressman and secretary of agriculture in the Clinton administration. In August, his campaign released an internal poll showing him within 5 percentage points of Hyde-Smith. But at the same time, the Hyde-Smith campaign released its own internal poll that indicated the race was not as close.

READ MORE: Espy, Hyde-Smith campaigns release dueling polls in Mississippi Senate race.

Black Mississippians made up 29% of those polled by Tyson — which, if the poll results are accurate, would be welcomed news for Espy. The Espy campaign has said that the African American share of the electorate needs to be more than 35% for him to have a chance of prevailing on Nov. 3 against the incumbent Hyde-Smith.

Hyde-Smith garnered more than 53% of the vote in November 2018 to defeat Espy in a special election runoff, when the two were competing to finish the term of long-time Sen. Thad Cochran who retired for health reasons.

The poll shows Hyde-Smith with a 45% to 35% lead among male voters, but Espy has a 44% to 37% advantage with female voters. Espy, who in 1986 became the first Black elected to Congress from Mississippi since the 1800s, has an 83% to 4% lead among African Americans.

The poll found that 18% of Mississippians were undecided.

READ MORE: Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith ducks questions at rare public event after months of laying low.

In recent weeks, Hyde-Smith has made few public appearances. Most political forecasters have tabbed the race as a safe or a least likely hold for Republicans who are struggling to maintain their slim majority this election cycle in the U.S. Senate.

The same poll gives President Donald Trump a 50% to 40% lead over former Vice President Joe Biden in Mississippi.

In terms of job approvals, the poll finds:

• Governor Tate Reeves with a 51% to 41% positive rating.
• Sen. Roger Wicker with a 45% to 29% positive rating.
• Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith with a 45% to 37% positive rating.

In Florida, considered a key swing state, especially for Trump’s potential path to victory, Biden holds a slim 46% to 44% lead.

In neighboring Alabama, Trump has a surprisingly slim 48% to 44% lead over Biden.

The poll of 600 Mississippi voters was conducted on Aug. 28-30 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%.

Espy began his television advertising campaign on Sept. 1. Hyde-Smith is slated to begin running television ads later this week.

The post New poll: Democrat Mike Espy within 1% of GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/ Report for America

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker speaks to media on behalf of Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith after her debate against Mike Espy inside the Farm Bureau Federation auditorium on Nov. 20, 2018.

Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, the Republicans representing Mississippi in the U.S. Senate, want to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court before new elected officials take office in January.

The Friday death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an icon of the left and one of the most liberal justices on the Supreme Court, sent shock waves through the American political system, spurring debate over whether it was too close to Election Day for the Republican president to nominate a new justice and for the Republican-controlled Senate to consider the nomination.

Many pundits believe that Democrats could win the presidency and control of the Senate on Nov. 3. Since Ginsburg’s death, Democrats have argued that a confirmation process to replace her on the court should wait until after a new president and new Senate are elected.

But Republican leaders, including Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, appear eager to use possibly their last few weeks in power to nominate a new conservative-leaning justice.

Wicker and Hyde-Smith publicly agreed with McConnell’s approach over the weekend.

“President Trump and Senate Republicans promised to confirm well-qualified, conservative judges and justices to the federal courts,” Wicker said in a statement on Saturday. “We should continue to fulfill this promise and our constitutional duty for all vacancies as long as we are in office. I look forward to consideration of the President’s nominee by the full Senate.”

“President Trump and the Senate now have the solemn duty to fill that vacancy, a process that should not be delayed,” Hyde-Smith said in a statement on Sunday. “I take this responsibility seriously, and I support the President’s intention to name a nominee as soon as possible.  I am confident he will continue his practice of nominating qualified, conservative jurists, who are committed to interpreting the law justly.”

Ginsburg, the second woman selected to serve on the Supreme Court, became a political and cultural icon to the left, wielding an ardent defense of equal rights. Republicans being in position to fill her seat means that conservative-leaning justices could control the nation’s highest court, and Democrats fear key Supreme Court decisions like Roe v. Wade could be overturned.

Wicker’s statement over the weekend stands in contrast to public positions he took in 2016, when outgoing Democratic President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court after the passing of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.

Scalia died 10 months before 2016 Election Day — far longer than the 45 days that Ginsburg passed away before 2020 Election Day. Still, the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate blocked Garland’s nomination, arguing that an outgoing Democratic president shouldn’t get to make the appointment.

“The American people should have the opportunity to make their voices heard before filling a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court,” Wicker said in March 2016, arguing that the nomination should wait until after the new president and Senate was elected. “In November, the country will get that chance by choosing a new president – a process that is well underway.”

Trump, in one of his first moves as president in January 2017, nominated Neil Gorsuch, who was quickly confirmed by the Republican Senate.

Republican leaders this week argue that 2020 is different than 2016 because Obama was term-limited and leaving office. Trump is running for re-election, though he trails in major polls in key electoral college states. Meanwhile, Republicans are also fighting to keep control of the Senate this fall.

As it stands currently, Republicans only need 51 votes to confirm a new justice once one is formally nominated. There are currently 53 GOP senators, meaning they can only lose three Republicans. In the event of a 50-50 split, Vice President Mike Pence could cast a tie-breaking vote.

Two Republican senators — Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine — have publicly said the seat should not be filled before Election Day.

Hyde-Smith is facing re-election this year, and the Supreme Court debate is sure to be a main talking point on the campaign trail. Her Democratic opponent Mike Espy said in a statement on Monday morning that “the next president” should make the nomination.

READ MORE: Espy breaks single-day fundraising record as Democrats appear galvanized by RBG’s death

“I firmly believe that Mississippians deserve to have their voices heard,” Espy said. “It should be up to the next president to nominate a qualified jurist to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat. The next Senate should consider a nominee and if I am elected, I will review any nominee’s qualifications for this serious, lifetime appointment.”

The post Wicker, Hyde-Smith want to consider Trump’s Supreme Court nominee in 2020 appeared first on Mississippi Today.