Voters in several areas of the state can participate in special primary elections today to decide who will represent them in the state Legislature.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today. Anyone in line to vote by 7 p.m. will be allowed to cast their ballot beyond the 7 p.m. closure.
A federal three-judge panel ordered Mississippi to conduct special elections for 14 legislative seats this year because the court determined the Legislature diluted Black voting strength when lawmakers redrew legislative districts.
The federal panel specifically ordered the state to have special elections for House districts in the Chickasaw County area, Senate districts in the Hattiesburg area and Senate districts in the DeSoto County area.
Four seats are not contested, which means only one candidate filed paperwork to run in the race. But 10 of the legislative seats are being contested.
Tuesday is primary election day, where voters must choose to participate in either the Republican primary or the Democratic primary. If no candidate in a primary election receives an outright majority of the votes cast, then the two candidates who received the most votes will participate in a primary runoff on September 2.
However, only Senate District 42, which includes portions of Forrest, Greene, Jones and Wayne counties, allows for the mathematical possibility of a runoff election because three Republican candidates are running.
After party primaries, the Republican and Democratic nominees will compete in a general election on November 4.
If voters have any questions about voting on Election Day, they can contact their local circuit clerk or the secretary of state’s elections hotline at 1-800-829-6786. For more voter information, visit to the secretary of state’s Elections and Voting portal.
