Jackson, MS (Mississippi Free Press)

In the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 5, Mississippi voters will choose candidates to represent them in national, regional and local offices. The national and statewide offices are listed below.

Mississippians will vote for candidates for president and vice president and elect members of the House and Senate. Some voters will also have judicial and regional candidates for office on their ballots.

Claudia De la Cruz – Party for Socialism and Liberation

For details on the candidates’ backgrounds and policy views, read our presidential candidate guide.

The President of the United States is the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces and directs the nation’s foreign policy. Presidents are also in charge of the federal government, making major appointments such as the U.S. attorney general, U.S. secretary of state, heads of federal regulatory bodies and federal judges and U.S. Supreme Court justices. Presidents often set the legislative agenda for Congress (when their party is in power) and can sign bills into law or veto legislation.

For details on the candidates’ backgrounds and policy views, read our U.S. Senate candidate guide.

The U.S. Senate is one of two bodies in Congress with the authority to pass federal laws. The Senate has the exclusive right to host impeachment trials for high-ranking federal officials. The Senate advises and consents on treaties and can help appoint or deny certain nominations, federal agency leaders, ambassadors and federal judges, including U.S. Supreme Court justices.

For details on the candidates’ backgrounds and policy views, read our U.S. House candidate guide.

The U.S. House of Representatives is one of two bodies in Congress that can write and pass federal laws. The House has the sole responsibility to draft revenue bills, impeach federal officers and elect the president if none of the candidates collect a majority of votes from the Electoral College.

For details on the candidates’ backgrounds and policy views, read the judicial election guide published in partnership with The Marshall Project.

The Mississippi Supreme Court is the state’s highest court and reviews cases that answer questions about the law, such as capital punishment, election disputes, multiple annexation, utility rates, judicial disciplinary affairs, bond issues, laws that other courts found unconstitutional and other issues that are likely to have a major impact on the public.

For details on the candidates’ backgrounds and policy views, read the judicial election guide published in partnership with The Marshall Project.

The Mississippi Court of Appeals is the state’s intermediate court that is designed to relieve the backlog of cases from the Mississippi Supreme Court. The appellate court hears and makes decisions on appeals from trial courts throughout the state. The Mississippi Supreme Court generally assigns cases to the Court of Appeals that raise issues in which the law has been decided but parties are still arguing over the facts. After the appellate court makes its decision in a case, the Mississippi Supreme Court may review the outcome, but if it does not conduct a review, the Court of Appeals’ decision stands.

At the city and county level, candidates are running for local and regional offices. For a complete list of candidates running for office in your district, use the Mississippi Secretary of State’s My Election Day tool to access a sample ballot.

Any Mississippi resident who registered to vote by Oct. 9, 2024, may vote on Tuesday, Nov. 5. If you registered to vote in the past but are not sure whether your voter registration is active or if you are registered at your current residence, you can check your registration status at this link.

If a registered voter’s name does not appear in the poll book, that voter has the right under Mississippi law to request an affidavit ballot. Affidavit voters are entitled to be notified whether or not their votes are counted and if not, why.

Polls statewide are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Any voter who is in line by 7 p.m. can vote if they remain in line.

All mail-in absentee ballots must be postmarked by election day (Nov. 5) and received by local election officials within five business days of General Election Day to count.

If you are not already registered to vote, you will not be able to cast a ballot in the Nov. 5 elections, but you can find information on how to register to vote in future elections at this link. Voters who need to update their voter registration information can do so at this link.

This story is provided as a service of the Institute for Nonprofit News’ On the Ground news wire. The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) is a network of more than 475 independent, nonprofit newsrooms serving communities throughout the US, Canada, and globally. On the Ground is a service of INN, which aggregates the best of its members’ elections and political content, and provides it free for republication. Read more about INN here: https://inn.org/.

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