INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 19
SPONSOR: Nick Walters, Post Office Box 2599,
Jackson, MS 39207
SUBJECT MATTER: Elections
PROPOSED BALLOT TITLE: Should the Constitution require: voter
identification; open primaries; state elections be held in 2006; and,
restrictions on mailing absentee ballots?
PROPOSED BALLOT SUMMARY: Passage of this initiative would amend the
Mississippi Constitution to require: open party primary elections; that all
voters present identification in order to vote; a doctor's affidavit that a
voter is unable to come to the polls before an absentee ballot may be sent to
the voter; and, that elections for state, district and county offices be held in
November of 2006 and every fourth year thereafter.
ORIGINAL FILING: December 29, 1998
STATUS: Expired
Initiative Information
The official ballot title and ballot summary for an initiative measure are
prepared by the Mississippi Attorney General's Office. Initiative petitions are
valid for one year. According to Mississippi law, for an initiative petition to
be sufficient a minimum of 91,673 certified signatures must be gathered; with at
least 18,355 certified signatures from each of the five congressional districts.
The number of signatures required represents 12% of the total number of votes
cast for Governor in the last gubernatorial general election. All signatures on
the petition must be certified by county Circuit Clerks as those of registered
Mississippi voters.
For more information on the initiative process in Mississippi, consult the
Mississippi Constitution of 1890, Section 273; and Miss. Code Ann., Sections
23-17-1 through 23-17-61 (1972).