INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 26
SPONSOR:
P. Leslie Riley, Jr., 3095 Big Hill Road, Pontotoc, Mississippi 38863
SUBJECT MATTER:
Definition of “person"
BALLOT TITLE:
Should the term
“person” be defined to include every human being from the moment of
fertilization, cloning, or the equivalent thereof?
BALLOT SUMMARY:
Initiative #26
would amend the Mississippi Constitution to define the word “person” or
“persons”, as those terms are used in Article III of the state constitution, to
include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the
functional equivalent thereof.
EXPIRATION DATE: February 13, 2010
STATUS:
Active
Personhood Petition
Click here
to view the original filing
Initiative Information
The official ballot title
and ballot summary for an initiative measure are prepared by the Mississippi
Attorney General’s Office. Initiative measures are valid for one year.
During this one-year period, a petition may be circulated to place the measure
on the next statewide general election ballot to allow the voters of Mississippi
to determine whether the measure should become a part of the Mississippi
Constitution. According to Mississippi law, for an initiative measure to
be placed on the ballot, a minimum of 89,285 certified signatures must be
gathered, with at least 17,857 certified signatures from each of the five
congressional districts as they existed in the year 2000. This required
number of signatures represents twelve percent (12%) of the total number of
votes cast for Governor in the last gubernatorial general election.
Signatures must be certified by county circuit clerks as belonging to registered
voters in Mississippi. A completed petition should be filed with Secretary
of State, together with a filing fee of $500.00.
For more information on the
initiative process in Mississippi, consult the Mississippi Constitution of 1890,
Section 273, and Mississippi Code Annotated ยงยง 23-17-1 through 23-17-61 (1972).