JACKSON — Mississippi's General and Special Election Day is less than a week away. The November 8 ballot features congressional, state judicial, and school board races, in addition to a handful of special elections.

JACKSON – As of Sunday, November 6, 2022, the Statewide Election Management System (SEMS) reported a total of 51,849 absentee ballots requested, 51,232 absentee ballots sent, and 46,120 absentee ballots received in the state of Mississippi for the 2022 General Election. 

JACKSON – In an attempt to be fully transparent, the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services and our office want to provide an Election Day update regarding the periodic website outages.

An abnormally large increase in traffic volume due to DDoS activity caused the public facing side of our websites to be periodically inaccessible this afternoon. We want to be extremely clear and reassure Mississippians our election system is secure and has not been compromised. 

Yesterday, our office confirmed an abnormally large increase in traffic volume due to DDoS activity, which caused the public facing side of our websites to be periodically inaccessible. 

At this time, we do not have confirmation as to where the DDoS activity originated and more evidence would be required to attribute to any person or group.

JACKSON – The Secretary of State's Office has released the 2022 Report on Charitable Organizations. The annual report, which includes information such as total revenue, fundraising expenses and charitable purpose expenses, ensures Mississippians are informed of critical information regarding Mississippi charities prior to making a donation.

JACKSON — Secretary of State Michael Watson has announced the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award co-recipients for 2022-- Maisie Brown of Hinds County and Bobby Hudson of Harrison County. 

The award, created in 2021 by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), seeks to recognize gifted, civic-minded, young individuals in the state each year.

JACKSON, Miss. — Secretary of State Michael Watson is pleased to announce a Mississippi Businesses Against Trafficking (MBAT) Summit to be held the afternoon of January 24, 2023, during National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

JACKSON, Miss – Candidates may begin qualifying today, January 3, 2023, for the 2023 Election which will include statewide offices, state district offices, county offices, and county district offices. 

Jackson, Miss. – Over the last six months, our office has seamlessly transitioned from the last administration to the new. Much of that credit belongs to our Chief of Staff, Keith Davis, and our Deputy Chief of Staff, Carla Thornhill. About a week or two ago, our office received the bittersweet news of Chief Davis’ resignation. Davis has accepted a position as Deputy Commissioner of Operations with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. Anytime a member of our team has an opportunity to do more for Mississippi, we support it wholeheartedly.

JACKSON, Miss - Secretary of State Michael Watson hosted the Spring Summit this week for members of the inaugural SOS Student Ambassador program. The group of high school seniors convened in Jackson for a full day of sessions which included the legislative process, voter registration drives, and other SOS-related content.