Here in Mississippi, the principles of American democracy are not abstract or theoretical — they have literally charted the history of our state and transformed the ways in which we interact with one another.
Yet in the current hyperpartisan environment of the 2024 presidential election, even the word democracy raises hairs among many Mississippians. That’s why we at Mississippi Today, the state’s flagship nonprofit newsroom, have put our team to work at bringing us all back to basics about what it means to live in a democracy.
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WHAT DOES CIVICS MEAN?
Use this breakdown on how the government is structured and the history of voting to help define civics in your life.
There are three branches of government in the United States: legislative, executive and judicial. The legislative branch makes the laws, the executive branch enforces the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws.
There are nuances. For instance, the executive branch enforces the laws, but the nation’s president, whom we will vote on this year, uses his massive bully pulpit as head of the executive to try to influence what laws the legislature branch — U.S. Congress — will pass.
The three branches of government can be found in all three levels of government: federal, state and local levels. However, there is often not a clear delineation between the three branches on the local level.
All three levels of governments have specified duties, though there are nuances. In general, the federal government provides for the nation’s security and enforces general laws that impact every American. State laws impact residents of each respective, individual state.
There are municipal and county governments on the local level that provide basics services such as maintenance and operation of local roads and bridges, the delivery of certain services such as garbage collection, and the operation of the schools and other entities such as libraries and parks.
The history of voting in Mississippi
VOTER INFO
Use our guide to know where to go and what to bring to the polls on election day.
GENERAL ELECTION: NOVEMBER 5, 2024
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Mark your calendar for General Election day is Tuesday, November 5. Make sure to set a notification so you’re reminded in advance. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
REGISTER TO VOTE
Don’t know if you’re registered? Search your name on the Secretary of State’s website and find out if you are registered.
Not registered? The deadline to register to vote in the general election is October 7. Apply through the Secretary of State’s Office.
WHERE TO VOTE
Your Voter Registration Card will provide the name, location, and number of the precinct in which you will vote.
Find your polling place by entering your address on the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office website.
WHAT TO BRING
What do you need to bring to your polling place or to the Circuit Clerk’s office for absentee voting? Visit the Secretary of State’s list of acceptable forms of ID and find out if you need a free Mississippi Voter Identification Card.
VOTING OPTIONS
In-person Voting
On election day, Mississippi polling locations are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Absentee Voting
If you are unable to physically vote at the polls on election day, you might be eligible for absentee voting before the election date. To submit your absentee vote in-person, visit or contact your Circuit Clerk’s Office from 8 a.m. to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, beginning September 23, 2024 until November 2, 2024. For those who cannot visit their circuit clerk’s office during the work week, Saturday in-person absentee voting dates are Saturday, October 26, 2024, and November 2, 2024, from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.
Most absentee voters must appear before the Circuit Clerk and absentee vote in-person, though some instances qualify for voting by mail:
- Any person who is temporarily residing outside of their county of residence, and the ballot must be mailed to an address outside the county.
- Any person who has a temporary or permanent physical disability and who, because of such disability, is unable to vote in person without substantial hardship to himself, herself or others, or whose attendance at the voting place could reasonably cause danger to himself, herself or others.
- The parent, spouse or dependent of a person with a temporary or permanent physical disability who is hospitalized outside of his or her county of residence or more than fifty (50) miles distant from his or her residence, if the parent, spouse or dependent will be with such person on election day.
- Any person who is sixty-five (65) years of age or older.
- Any mail-in absentee ballots must be received within five business days after the election, which is November 13 for the general election, as long as the envelope has been postmarked on/before election day, November 5.
Credit: Secretary of State office
YOUR VOTING RIGHTS
- Every qualified Mississippi elector is entitled to vote regardless of race, creed, color, or disability.
- No one may refuse a person the right to vote if that person is legally entitled to vote.
- No voter shall be threatened, intimidated, or paid to vote by any person.
- Voters whose names do not appear on the poll book or who do not have an acceptable form of photo ID are entitled to vote by affidavit ballot.
- Voters who cast an affidavit ballot are entitled to receive written information at the time of voting on how to determine if the vote was counted and, if not, why not.
- Voters who require assistance in marking the ballot because of disability, blindness, or an inability to read or write are entitled to receive assistance from a person of the voter’s choice, excluding, a candidate whose name is on the ballot, or the spouse, parent, sibling or child of a candidate whose name is on the ballot, or by a poll watcher who is observing in the polling place on Election Day, or the voter’s employer or agent of that employer, or officer or agent of the voter’s union; unless, however, a candidate for office or the spouse, parent or child of a candidate is related within the first degree to the voter requesting assistance.
- Credit: Secretary of State office
If you witness issues or irregularities that might interfere with the right to a fair voting process, you can report it to the Secretary of State office through the Help America Vote Act Complaint Form:
Credit: Secretary of State office
THE CANDIDATES
Read our coverage for coverage of top news on the campaign trail.
VIEW THE FULL RESULTS OF THE PRIMARY ELECTION
Mississippi election results: President, Senate, House primaries
Mississippi primary election results: Several contested party primaries for president, U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.
THE COVERAGE
Keep up to date on what’s going on in the 2024 election by catching up on our latest reporting.
MEDIA LITERACY
What role does journalism play in democracy? How can you discern quality election coverage?
The Role of Journalism in Democracy
A brief explanation of how journalism supports democracy and keeps the public informed.
- “How We Know Journalism is Good for Democracy” by Josh Sterns, Democracy Fund
Understanding the Media
Tips on how to critically evaluate news sources and differentiate between credible information and misinformation.
- Pen America’s Media Literacy Toolkit
- National Association for Media Literacy Education
- News Literacy Project
- Media Wise from Poynter
RESOURCES
Democracy goes beyond election season. Here are some helpful resources to deepen your knowledge of civics and how to stay involved right where you are.
Civics Glossary
Drop down to view the definition and learn more about these common terms surrounding democracy.
Autocracy
A form of government where one person has absolute power. In this form of government, “the autocrat is not subject to any legal or legislative or even constitutional restraints.”
Bill of Rights
These are your rights. “The Bill of Rights is the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. It spells out Americans’ rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion.”
Democracy
A form of government where the power is vested in the people, rather than on a monarch or group of people.
Direct Democracy
This refers to a democratic form of government in which the public makes direct decisions on policy without a proxy or representative deciding on behalf of the public. For example: In 2020, the public of Mississippi was able to decide on the new state flag.
Election Day
The last day in which people can vote in person during an electoral process. In the United States, Election Day is when the General Election takes place. This year, Election Day is November 5, 2024.
Electoral College
A process, not a place. The process stems from a “compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens,” according to the National Archives. This process starts with the selection of electors, then a meeting where electors “vote for President and Vice President” and then Congress counts the votes and certifies the election. For this reason, the United States can have a candidate win a presidential election without necessarily getting a majority of the individual votes that are cast.
Electoral Vote
These are the number of votes that are cast by each state’s electors for President and Vice President. State electors are assigned based on the number of representatives in the House of Representatives, plus two senators. For example: Mississippi casts six votes during the electoral college – one for each of the four congressional districts, plus two senators. There are a total of 538 electoral votes. The majority needed to win is 270 electoral votes.
Executive Power
This is the branch of government which is responsible for the enforcement of laws. In the case of the United States, “the power of the executive branch is vested in the President.” According to the White House, “The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress and, to that end, appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Cabinet. The Vice President is also part of the Executive Branch, ready to assume the Presidency should the need arise.”
Federation
This refers to a group of states which jointly form a bigger government or organization. In a federation, each state has oversight over its own internal affairs, as long as they do not contradict the federal laws encompassed in the United States Constitution.
Gerrymandering
In the United States, it refers to the “drawing of the boundaries of electoral districts in a way that gives one party an unfair advantage over its rivals.”
Human Rights
“Rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination.”
Indirect Democracy
See representative democracy.
Judicial Power
The branch of government designated with interpreting the laws. In the United States, “decides the constitutionality of federal laws and resolves other disputes about federal laws. However, judges depend on our government’s executive branch to enforce court decisions.” An example of a body where the judicial power is vested can be the Supreme Court of the United States, or a circuit court.
Legislative Power
This is the branch in charge of creating or changing laws and approving the budget. “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”
Legislature
Refers to a legislative body. In the United States, a legislature refers to the moment when a legislative body of a state (a state congress) is in session. Each state defines the time and place for a legislature to convene. For example, Texas’ Legislature meets every two years for several months to approve, amend or repeal laws, whereas Mississippi has an active legislature every year.
Monarchy
When one person holds all the power of the government. There can be different types of monarchies; from a constitutional monarchy, where there can be a figure of a king, but there are constitutional laws defining the role of the monarch. For example, Japan has a constitutional monarchy, where the emperor (head of state), and a cabinet with a prime minister (head of government) are the political leaders of the country.
Oligarchy
This refers to the form of government “by the few.” A particular group of people decide policies and define the government.
Popular Vote
In contrast with the electoral college votes, the popular vote refers to the net amount of votes cast during an election. For example, in 2016 Donald Trump accrued roughly 62 million votes, while Hillary Clinton got 65 million votes. Nonetheless, Trump won the 2016 elections with 306 electoral college votes against Clinton’s 232 electoral college votes.
Propaganda
Can be defined as a systematic and deliberate process used by the powerful elite to shape public opinion and manipulate information in a way that supports their interests, according to political experts Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky.
Republic
A form of government where power is derived from the people, either directly or indirectly, and is administered by elected or appointed officials who serve for a limited time or under specific conditions. It emphasizes popular sovereignty, majority rule, and the right of citizens to participate in governance and lawmaking, according to Cornell Law. A republican form of government also relies on the separation of powers.
Representative Democracy
When “people use elections to select representatives who govern on their behalf. This system is based on the principles of equality of all and the right of every individual to some degree of personal autonomy,” according to Cornell Law. This can also be an indirect democracy.
Separation of Powers
This is the principle that no one government actor can vest all the power in the government. Therefore, it separates powers of the state into the legislative power, the executive power and the judicial power; which in the United States are Congress, the President and Vice-president, and the courts.
Theocracy
A form of government where policy or government are dictated by “divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided.”
THE OTHER SIDE PODCAST
Join host Adam Ganucheau for The Other Side, Mississippi Today’s political podcast. New episodes every Monday.
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Democracy Day is a nationwide collaborative reporting project helmed by the Center for Cooperative Media. It got its start ahead of the midterms in 2022 and was launched as an effort to encourage news organizations across the country to report more — and better— information about the crisis facing democracy here.