Initiatives
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Mississippi’s Initiative Process

The Mississippi initiative law affords voters an avenue for addressing important constitutional issues which the State Legislature does not.

After registering the initiative with the Secretary of State’s Office, the official ballot title and summary are prepared by the Mississippi Attorney General. Initiatives are only valid for one year, during which time a petition must be circulated to gather signatures to place the measure on the next statewide General Election ballot. According to State law, for an initiative measure to be placed on the ballot, a minimum of 106,190 certified signatures must be gathered with at least 21,238 certified signatures from each of the five congressional districts as they existed in the year 2000. Signatures must be certified by county circuit clerks. A completed petition is filed with the Secretary of State’s Office, along with a $500 filing fee.

Not only must an initiative receive a majority of the total votes cast for that particular initiative, it must also receive more than 40% of the total votes cast in that election.



Click on any of the links below for more information on that initiative.
1 - Constitutional Convention
2 - Reduce size of Legislature
3 - Statutory and Local Referendum
4 - Term Limits
5 - Board of Denturity
6 - Municipal Annexation
7 - Public Schools
8 - Board of Denturity
9 - Term Limits
10 - Punitive Damages
11 - Punitive Damages
12 - Gaming
13 - Gaming
14 - Punitive Damages
15 - Voter Identification
16 - Attorney's Fees
17 - Damages in civil actions
18 - Damages in civil actions
19 - Elections
20 - Gaming/Gambling
21 - State Flag
22 - "Ultimate Human Life Amendment"
23 - "Ultimate Human Life Amendment"
24 - Assisted Suicide and Abortion
25 - Cigarette Tax
26 - Definition of “person"
27 - Voter Identification
28 - Cigarette Tax
29 - Obeying Federal Directives
30 - Term Limits
31 - Eminent Domain
32 - Healthcare Plan
33 - Public Fund Recipients
34 - African-American Day/Women's Day
35 - Mississippi Citizen Act
37 - Colonel Reb Mascot
39 - African-American Day/Women's Day
40 - Mississippi Citizens Act
41 - Right to Life
42 - Public Schools Funding
44 - Relating to Referenda
45 - Relating to School Vouchers
46 - State Heritage
48 - Legalization of Cannabis
51 - Term Limits
52 - Relating to the Legalization of Cannabis
53 - Non-Public School Sports Teams
54 - State Flag of Mississippi
55 - The Flag for All Mississippians Act
56 - State Flag of Mississippi
57 - Open Primary
58 - The State Flag of Mississippi
59 - Repeal of Art. 4, Sec. 48, Miss. Const.
60 - Legalization of the use, taxation, cultivation and sale of industrial hemp and cannabis.
62 - 1894 State Flag as the official State Flag
63 - Legalization of the use, taxation, cultivation and sale of industrial hemp and cannabis.
65 - Medical Marijuana
66 - Redistricting
67 - Legalization of Cannabis
68 - Legalizaton of Cannabis
69 - Open Primary Election Process
70 - Open Primary Elections
71 - Pre-trial Diversion for Individuals with Mental Illness
72 - State Flag of Mississippi
73 - State Flag of Mississippi
75 - Term Limits
76 - Reinstating description of Mississippi boundaries as described prior to 1990
77 - Bill of Rights
78 - Legalization of Cannabis and Industrial Hemp
79 - Legalization of Cannabis
80 - Legalization of Cannabis
81 - Semi-Professional Women’s Soccer Team
82 - State Flag
83 - State Flag
84 - Expansion of Medicaid
85 - Legalization of Marijuana and Cannabis
10085 - Early Voting