Mississippi Secretary of State's Office releases helpful tips ahead of Primary Election Day

(The following is a press release from the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office.)

Jackson, Miss.—Polls open for the 2018 Primary Elections at 7 a.m. Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Mississippians can cast a ballot for candidates seeking party nomination for U.S. Senate and House of Representatives seats.

Polls close at 7 p.m. Any voter in line at 7 p.m. is entitled to cast a ballot.

“Thousands of Mississippi National Guardsmen and women are deploying now for the Middle East. One of the ways we can honor their service and sacrifice is to cast a ballot in the upcoming election,” Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said.

Senate and Congressional Primary Elections are conducted by political parties in Mississippi. The Secretary of State’s Office will have 26 observers in precincts across the State. Problems at the polls observed by State observers or otherwise reported to the Elections Division will be referred to the authorities, including the Attorney General’s Office or appropriate District Attorney’s Office. The Secretary of State’s Office has no enforcement authority to resolve problems.

Other important information for Election Day includes:

• Absentee Voting Deadline: The in-person absentee voting deadline is Saturday, June 2, 2018. Circuit Clerk’s Offices will be open from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. The deadline to vote by mail is Monday, June 4, 2018, and Circuit Clerk’s Offices must be in actual receipt of the absentee ballot by 5 p.m. UOCAVA voters, including servicemembers deployed outside their county of residence, must absentee vote by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, June 5, 2018.

• Polling Place Location: A polling place locator is available on the Secretary of State's website at http://www.sos.ms.gov/PollingPlace/Pages/default.aspx.

• Voter Photo ID: Voters are required to show photo identification at the polls. A voter without an acceptable form of photo identification is entitled to cast an affidavit ballot. An affidavit ballot may be counted if the voter provides an acceptable form of photo identification to the Circuit Clerk’s Office within five business days after the election. For more information, visit www.msvoterID.ms.gov.

• Campaigning: It is unlawful to campaign for any candidate within 150 feet of any entrance to a polling place, unless on private property.

• Loitering: The polling places should be clear for 30 feet from every entrance of all people except elections officials, voters waiting to vote, or authorized poll watchers.

• Camera Phones: Voters are prohibited from taking pictures of their marked ballot.

For more information about State election laws or Election Day information, visit Y’all Vote, http://www.yallvote.sos.ms.gov/, or call the Elections Division Hotline at (601) 576-2550 or 1-800-829-6786.