EDITORIAL MEMO
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2024
CONTACT: press@securedemocracyusa.org
It’s Time To Bring In-Person Early Voting To Mississippi
In-person early voting – up for a Senate floor vote soon – would create new secure voting opportunities, enhancing both election integrity and freedom for all Mississippians
A new bill in the Mississippi legislature (S.B. 2580) introduced by Senator Jeremy England (R-Jackson County) would improve voter freedom in Mississippi by creating secure in-person early voting opportunities for all Mississippi voters. Mississippi is one of only four states in the nation that does not offer any in-person early voting, despite bipartisan support for this policy and decades of successful implementation across the country.
Secure Democracy USA, a nonpartisan advocacy organization focused on improving elections, provides the following memo to share information on how early voting would benefit everyday Mississippians. With the bill likely to be ready for its first full chamber vote in the Senate soon, we urge you to educate your readers about this issue and write in favor of lawmakers creating in-person early voting opportunities for Mississippi voters.
Forty-seven states offer in-person early voting, but Mississippi is not one of them
Mississippi is just one of only four states in the country that does not offer its citizens any form of in-person early voting, along with Alabama and New Hampshire. Numerous states across the country, including Mississippi’s neighbors Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee, have proven that in-person early voting can be a secure, popular option for casting a ballot.
Offering in-person early voting would bring Mississippi in line with other conservative-led states, including Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, West Virginia, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Alaska.
In-person early voting has strong bipartisan support in Mississippi
In-person early voting enjoys bipartisan support in Mississippi, according to a November 2023 poll conducted by Arc Insights on behalf of Secure Democracy Foundation. The survey found that 74% of Mississippi voters support the state offering in-person early voting for all voters - including 65% of Republicans, 79% of Independents, and 82% of Democrats.
Early voting is embraced by political leaders across the country
Early voting is broadly supported by political parties and their leaders. For example, the Republican National Committee launched a nationwide campaign encouraging GOP voters to ‘bank their vote’ by voting early in the 2024 elections. President Trump released a video message last year encouraging his supporters to “commit to vote early.” Other GOP officials who have recently encouraged Republican voters to vote early include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, South Carolina U.S. Senator Tim Scott, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, and Kentucky U.S. Senator Rand Paul.
In-person early voting is secure and will improve election integrity and administration
As Senator Jeremy England, the sponsor of S.B. 2580, recently wrote in the Magnolia Tribune, allowing in-person early voting for all Mississippi voters does not come at the expense of election security. In fact, England’s proposal would include several built in security systems, including:
In-person early voting would require the same identification verification as Election Day voting. Mississippi voters who choose to cast their ballot early would be required to show their valid photo ID and have their registration status checked, just as if they were voting on Election Day.
In-person early voting would only occur at local clerks’ offices, under the supervision of trained, professional election administrators.
Voters who use in-person early voting would place their ballot directly in the scanner to ensure their ballot is counted. The results of early voting would not be tabulated and reported until after polls close at 7pm on Election Day.
In-person early voting will give everyday Mississippians more opportunities to make their voices heard on their own schedule
Whether you are a nurse, truck driver, teacher, or caregiver, making it to the polls specifically on Election Day isn’t always easy for all Mississippians, and with Mississippi’s strict limits on absentee voting, many Mississippi voters are shut out of the process. Offering 15 days of in-person early voting will give Mississippians who are busy with work, school, and family duties, as well as seniors and people with disabilities, more opportunities to securely cast their ballot on their own schedule.
Early voting can particularly ease the burden of casting a ballot in-person for rural voters, who may have to travel farther to vote on Election Day. That’s why roughly half of voters in rural areas nationally voted early in 2020.
It’s time for early voting in Mississippi
Mississippi lawmakers have the chance to expand voter freedom, where every Mississippi citizen will be able to securely vote on their own schedule. In-person early voting doesn’t have to come at the expense of security as local clerks will use the same election integrity checks and balances they use on Election Day. It’s past time for Mississippi to offer this common-sense, secure, and bipartisan solution to voters.
Secure Democracy USA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization that works to build confidence in our elections and improve voter access across the United States. We educate policymakers and the public about what it takes to safeguard our voting systems. We use survey and messaging research to inform our strategy and we collaborate with state leaders, election administrators, policy experts, and allies to ensure that all eligible citizens have the freedom to vote how they choose.