JACKSON, Miss – Secretary of State Michael Watson announced an emergency enforcement action to stop an ongoing internal scheme threatening immediate and irreparable harm. The action accuses GS Partners Global (GS Partners), GS Partners Chairman of the Board Josip Heit, and Mississippi representative of GS Partners Richard L. Shoto, of offering and selling fraudulent certificates tied to digital assets, as well as investments in a staking pool in a proprietary metaverse.

JACKSON, Miss. – On October 26, 2023, Secretary of State Michael Watson and the Securities Division of the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office issued an order against Stephone N. Patton. According to the order, Patton is a serial fraudster with multiple criminal convictions in Mississippi and Florida. Through business filings with the SEC and Mississippi, Patton holds himself out to be the CEO of various companies, including:

JACKSON, Miss. – Pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 27-101-1, the FY 2023 Annual Report of the Secretary of State's Office has been published and is available on the agency website.

Click here to view the FY 2023 Annual Report

JACKSON, Miss. – Candidates may begin qualifying today, January 2, 2024, for the 2024 Election for the offices of President, U.S. Senate, U.S. Representative, Supreme Court Justice, County Election Commission, Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee Commission, and Mississippi Levee Commission.

JACKSON, Miss. – In conjunction with the Elections 101 voter education campaign, Secretary of State Michael Watson joins the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) in the association's relaunch of the initiative #TrustedInfo2024.

This effort continues to highlight election officials as the trusted sources for election information, which is critical in the age of mis-, dis-, and mal-information campaigns.

JACKSON, Miss – As a reminder, periodic campaign finance reports for contributions and expenditures for the period of October 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, are due by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 10, 2023.

Candidates may submit reports via:

JACKSON, Miss – The qualifying deadline for all candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. Representative, and the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee Commission is Friday, January 12, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.

The qualifying deadline for the Presidential Preference Primary is Monday, January 15, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.

JACKSON, Miss. – Pursuant to Mississippi Code Section 23-15-817, the Secretary of State’s Office is required to publish a list of all candidates for Statewide or Legislative Office who failed to file a campaign disclosure report by the dates specified in Section 23-15-807(b).

Individuals who failed to timely file their campaign finance report by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, and still have not filed their report to date include:

JACKSON, Miss. – Sample ballots for the 2024 Democratic and Republican Presidential Primaries and are now available on the Mississippi Secretary of State's website.

Click here to access the sample ballots

JACKSON, Miss – As a reminder, campaign finance annual reports for contributions and expenditures are due by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 31, 2024.

Candidates may submit reports via: