2020 Mississippi elections

Mississippi state elections in 2020 were held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Its primaries were held on March 10, 2020, with runoffs taking place on June 23.[1]

In addition to the U.S. presidential race, Mississippi voters elect the Class II U.S. Senator from Mississippi, all of Mississippi's seats to the House of Representatives, and 4 of 9 seats on the Mississippi Supreme Court. They also vote on three ballot measures.[1]

Federal offices

President of the United States

Mississippi has 6 electoral votes in the Electoral College.

United States Class II Senate Seat

United States House of Representatives

There are 3 U.S. Representatives in Mississippi that will be up for election in addition to 1 open seat.[2]

State Judiciary

All four incumbents whose seats are up for reelection are running again.[3]

Ballot Measures

Polling

On Initiative 65 and Alternative 65A (collectively, Measure 1)

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	For Initiative 65	For Alternative 65A	For Both	For Neither	Undecided
FM3 Research	May 24–31, 2020	602 (LV)	± 4%	52%	23%	5%	6%	14%

On Whether Medical Marijuana Should Be Legal

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	Yes	No
Millsaps College/Chism Strategies	January 2–4, 2019	687 (LV)	± 3.4%	67%	24%

On Measure 2

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	For Measure 2	Against Measure 2	Undecided
Civiqs/Daily Kos	October 23–26, 2020	507 (LV)	± 5.3%	54%	25%	21%

On Measure 3

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[lower-alpha 1]	Margin of error	For Measure 3	Against Measure 3	Undecided
Civiqs/Daily Kos	October 23–26, 2020	507 (LV)	± 5.3%	61%	38%	8%

Ballot Measure 1
Legalization of medical marijuana

3 November 2020
65: Should Mississippi allow qualified patients with debilitating medical conditions, as certified by Mississippi licensed physicians, to use medical marijuana? 65A: Shall Mississippi establish a program to allow the medical use of marijuana products by qualified persons with debilitating medical conditions?
Location	Mississippi
Website	https://www.sos.ms.gov/Elections-Voting/Pages/2020-General-Election.aspx
Results
For approval of either Initiative 65 or 65A   61.65% Against both Initiative 65 or 65A   28.32% Choice: For Initiative 65   57.89% Choice: For Initiative 65A   20.68%

Ballot Measure 2
Removal of statewide electoral college

3 November 2020
This amendment provides that to be elected Governor, or to any other statewide office, a candidate must receive a majority of the votes in the general election. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, then a runoff election shall be held as provided by general law. The requirement of receiving the most votes in a majority of Mississippi House of Representative’s districts is removed.
Location	Mississippi
Results
Response Votes % Yes 984,788 79.28% No 257,314 20.72%

Ballot Measure 3
Approval of new state flag design

3 November 2020
Location	Mississippi
Results
Response Votes % Yes 943,918 72.98% No 349,522 27.02%

Legalization of medical marijuana

Legalization of medical marijuana comes with two choices for voters. The first vote is for the approval of either initiative or neither. The following choice is between either 65 or 65A. Voting for Initiative 65 supports approving the medical marijuana amendment as provided by Initiative 65, which would allow medical marijuana treatment for 22 specified qualifying conditions, allow individuals to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana at one time, and tax marijuana sales at the current state sales tax rate of 7%. Voting for Alternative 65A supports approving the legislature's alternative medical marijuana amendment, which would restrict smoking marijuana to terminally ill patients; require pharmaceutical-grade marijuana products and treatment oversight by licensed physicians, nurses, and pharmacists; and leave tax rates, possession limits, and certain other details to be set by the legislature.[4]

Initiative 65 would legalize possession of up to 2.5 ounces (71 g) of medical marijuana for people with 22 kinds of pre-existing conditions. It would also implement a tax for medical marijuana, allow its consumption in all but public places, cap the cost for medical marijuana ID cards at $50 per card, issue these cards by August 15, 2021 and delegate administration of medical marijuana to the state Department of Health. Alternative 65A would legalize possession of an as of yet unspecified amount of medical marijuana for terminally ill patients suffering from as of yet unspecified pre-existing conditions, would not necessarily delegate responsibility for administration to the state Department of Health, would not cap costs for medical marijuana ID cards, would not set a tax rate for the substance and would not set a deadline by which cards had to be issued.[5]

Initiative 65	Initiative 65A
Introduced by petition	Introduced by legislature
22 specified diseases	No specified diseases
Allows all specified diseases to smoke	Only terminally ill patients can smoke, others in other forms such as pills
Start date: August 2021	No specified start date
Free market	Limited license cap
Tax capped at 7%	Allows legislature to set sales tax rate, potentially at higher levels such as alcohol or tobacco
Regulated by Mississippi State Department of Health	State agency to be named

Elimination of state electoral college

A "yes" vote supports the following: removing the requirement that a candidate for governor or elected state office receive the most votes in a majority of the state's 122 House of Representatives districts (the electoral vote requirement), removing the role of the Mississippi House of Representatives in choosing a winner if no candidate receives majority approval, and providing that a candidate for governor or state office must receive a majority vote of the people to win and that a runoff election will be held between the two highest vote-getters in the event that no candidate receives a majority vote.

A "no" vote opposes this amendment to establish runoff elections for governor and state offices, thereby maintaining the electoral vote requirement and that the House of Representatives will vote for a winner in the event that no candidate receives a majority or in the event of a tie.[6]

Approval of new state flag design

Voters may vote either yes to adopt the new flag or no to oppose adopting the new state flag. If the new proposed flag is rejected by voters, the Commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag will reconvene, design another flag, and allow voters to approve or reject it at a special election in November 2021.[7]

See also

• Voter suppression in the United States 2019–2020: Mississippi
• Bilingual elections requirement for Mississippi (per Voting Rights Act Amendments of 2006)[8]

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

References

1. "Mississippi elections, 2020". Ballotpedia. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
2. "Live: Mississippi State Primary Election Results 2020". New York Times. March 17, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
3. "Sec. of State announces qualified MS Supreme Court candidates". Y'All Politics. March 4, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
4. "Confused about Initiative 65 and 65A? Here's a breakdown of medical marijuana in MS". SunHerald.com. Sun Herald. October 25, 2020.
5. Mitchell, J.T. (September 8, 2020). "Initiative 65 v. Initiative 65A: What you need to know". News Mississippi. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
6. "Mississippi Ballot Measure 2, Remove Electoral Vote Requirement and Establish Runoffs for Gubernatorial and State Office Elections Amendment (2020)". ballotpedia.com. Ballotpedia. October 25, 2020.
7. "Mississippi Ballot Measure 3, State Flag Referendum (2020)". ballotpedia.com. Ballotpedia. October 25, 2020.
8. "Covered Areas for Voting Rights Bilingual Election Materials—2015", Voting Rights Act Amendments of 2006, Determinations Under Section 203, Federal Register, retrieved October 13, 2020, A Notice by the Census Bureau on 12/05/2016

External links

• Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Mississippi", Voting & Elections Toolkits
• "Mississippi: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
• "League of Women Voters of Mississippi". (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
• Mississippi at Ballotpedia