September 12, 2012
Where can I register to vote?
You can register in person at County Circuit Clerk's Office (usually in the County Courthouse); or
Municipal Clerk's Office (usually in City Hall); or
Where you apply for or renew your driver's license; or
State and federal agencies offering government services.
You can register by mail by filling out a voter registration form. Remember that the form must be mailed to the County Circuit Clerk, and must be received by noon on October 5, 2012. if you want to vote in the November election. If you register by mail, you may have to show a proof of residence when you vote the first time.
How do I get an absentee ballot?
Call the circuit clerk's office and ask them to mail you an absentee ballot. You must request the ballot by September 27, 2012 in order to vote in the November 6, 2012 election. Not everyone is able to vote absentee, make sure you ask the clerk if you are eligible to vote absentee. List of County Clerk Offices's phone numbers.
Military and other overseas voters can information here.
Will I have to show photo ID to vote in the 2012 presidential election? I heard that Mississippi voters approved a constitutional amendment that would require all voters in the state to show photo identification before voting.
Election workers may not ask you for photo identification at the polls on November 6, 2012 UNLESS you registered to vote by mail and you have not ever voted. In November 2011, Mississippi voters did approve a constitutional amendment that would require photo identification for voting. Because of Mississippi's history of racial discrimination at the polls, the U.S. Department of Justice must first "clear" Mississippi's law before it goes into effect. It has not cleared the law yet, so election workers may not ask you for photo identification UNLESS you registered to vote by mail and you have not ever voted.
What do I do if a poll worker asks me for photo identification or tells me that my name is no longer on the voting rolls?
You have a right to file an affidavit ballot. If an election worker requires that you show ID to vote, or if the worker tells you that your name is not in the poll book, you can file an affidavit ballot. Mississippi law requires the worker to provide you with one. If the worker does not offer you an affidavit ballot, you may ask for one.
On the affidavit ballot, you will have to promise that you:
• Believe you are a registered to vote at the precinct where you are trying to vote and are eligible to vote in the election; or
• Are unable to cast a regular ballot because of some provision of state or federal law, but that you are otherwise qualified to vote; or
• Believe that you have been illegally denied registration.
You will also have to provide:
• Your full name, address, and telephone number(s); and
• A signed statement that you believe you are registered at the precinct in which you are trying to vote.
After you complete your affidavit ballot, a poll worker will place your ballot and affidavit into a sealed envelope. The poll worker is required to provide you with written information about how to find out whether your affidavit ballot was counted. If they do not give you this information, ask for it. Follow the instructions to find out if your vote was counted. They have to tell you the reason if they do not count your vote.
If you have any problems voting on Election Day, you can contact the ACLU of Mississippi Voting Hotline at 601-354-3408 or the Mississippi Secretary of State Elections Answerline at 1-800-829-6786.
For more information on voting in Mississippi you can visit the Mississippi Secretary of State's web page.
November 11, 2011
The time that you have been waiting for is here! The first MS Youth Hip Hop Summit Quarterly Youth Leadership Meeting is set for Saturday, Nov. 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the STEPS Coalition Building – DeMiller Hall (formerly the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer), 610 Water St. - Biloxi, MS. Join the broad-based coalition of social justice organizations as Mississippi's youth continue to learn how to work for change. We will continue what we started in Jackson this summer as we build skills to be effective youth justice activists. The time is now to make your voices heard and push for real changes in your communities! The ACLU of MS, NAACP MS State Conference, Children's Defense Fund, Southern Poverty Law Center and the Coalition for Prevention of Schoolhouse to Jailhouse are continuing their collaboration to move this project forward.
The Quarterly Youth Leadership Meetings will continue the MS Youth Justice Movement we started in Jackson this July and push it forward to even greater heights! The state is divided into five regions, with the coastal area and surrounding towns/cities (Hattiesburg/Forrest County south) being the Southern Region. The day's activities will consist of excellent, rewarding, and fun workshops and activities designed to make you an effective activist.
The interactive workshops include:
- Effective communications, outreach, and student assembly.
- Know your rights: How to handle harassment from those in authority: police, teachers, administrators, etc.
- Creating the first edition of the MS Youth Hip Hop Zone.
- Art (music, visual, dance )
- MS Student Bill of Rights drafting (see attached draft from the summit)
- Action: Taking it to the streets!
*AND MUCH MORE!
Lunch and refreshments will be provided free of charge.
Even if you didn't attend the 2011 MS Youth Hip Hop Summit in Jackson, you can still be part of the Quarterly Leadership Meeting.
We want you to join in the fight of making your schools, homes,and communities better places! YOUR voice is critical in making the rightchange MS needs; we CANNOT do it without YOU!
We look forward to seeing YOU again or for the first time on Sat., Nov. 12 in Biloxi! Please contact us with any questions and/or concerns. We can’twait to see YOU in Biloxi!
PLEASE - RSVP to the MS Hip Hop Summit Facebook events page: \\Quarterly Youth Leadership Meeting (facebook.com/MS.hiphopsummit)
October 14, 2011
Oct. 18 Community Forum and Discussion
American Association of University Women, Cleveland Branch
Delta State University Alumni House in Cleveland, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Oct. 19 Save The Pill Rally!
Independently sponsored
Oxford Courthouse Lawn, 5 p.m.
Oct. 20 Forum on Initiative 26 and Initiative 27
Sponsored by the Biloxi Branch of the NAACP
Church of the Redeemer in Biloxi, 6 p.m.
Oct. 20 Election Forum
Tougaloo College Pre-Law Society, 6 p.m.
500 West County Line Road
Tougaloo, MS 39174
Oct. 25 Personhood and You: Implications of Initiative #26
Barnard Observatory, 7 p.m.
Student Union Dr. and North Lane, adjacent to the Grove in Oxford
Oct. 25 Amendment 26: Exploring the Implications of MS's Personhood Initiative
Mississippi College School of Law, 6 p.m .
151 E. Griffith St., Jackson
Oct. 31 Ballot Initiatives Town Hall
New Hope Baptist Church in Greenville, 6 p.m.
Nov. 1 Vote No To Amendment 26 Dance In!
Drill Field @ Mississippi State University
Starkville, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 1 Community Forum on the Legal Consequences of Proposition 26
The University of Mississippi School of Law, Room 1078 at 5 p.m.
Nov. 3 Ballot Initiatives Town Hall
Mound Bayou Community Facilities Building in Mound Bayou, 6 p.m.
For more information about the events, contact Nancy Kohsin-Kintigh, 601 354-3408. None is sponsored by the ACLU of Mississippi.
September 30, 2011
Oct. 13, 2011
A townhall meeting was held at Jackson State University to discuss Initiative 26. More than 150 came out as ACLU of Mississippi Executive Director Nsombi Lambright and others talked about the dangers the proposed constitutional amendment would have on women and families if it is passed on Nov. 8.
The initiative, which attempts to give legal rights to fertilized eggs, would ban some commonly used forms of birth control, in vitro-fertilization and abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. The measure has been publicly opposed by medical associations and other organizations. Lambright explained to the gathering that the initiative would allow government intrusion in decisions that should be made by women and their families.
The implications of the measure are serious. The initiative would force women whose lives are at risk to carry a pregnancy to term or risk criminal charges. The threat of criminal charges also would loom over doctors who must consider whether to perform life-saving treatments on women. Lambright urged participants to educate others about the perils of Initiative 26, and to vote "No" on Election Day.
The event was sponsored by the Jackson State University School of Social Work.