Mississippi legislators are unlikely to restore a ballot initiative process this year. A Senate chairman killed a proposal Monday. The move came days after the Republican-controlled Senate voted 26-21 to pass a bill that would have allowed Mississippi residents to put some policy proposals on statewide ballots.
Sen. David Parker, R-Olive Branch, chair of the Mississippi Senate Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency Committee, presents ballot initiative legislation for the chamber to consider, Thursday, March 14, 2024, at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson, Miss. JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi legislators are unlikely to restore a ballot initiative process this year after a Senate chairman killed a proposal Monday.
Starting in the 1990s, Mississippi had a process for people to put proposed state constitutional amendments on the ballot, requiring an equal number of signatures from each of the five congressional districts. Mississippi dropped to four districts after the 2000 census, but initiative language was never updated.
Under the House proposal, an initiative would need more than 150,000 signatures in a state with about 1.9 million voters. To be approved, an initiative would need to receive at least 40% of the total votes cast. The Senate version would have required 67% of the total votes cast.
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