What to know before the 2023 Miss. primary election

PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) - Mississippi’s 2023 primary election day is steadily approaching.

Some races are already decided with candidates running unopposed, yet some races will not be decided until the general election in November.

“Some of those will not be on the ballots until November, those are the independents,” said Jones County Circuit Clerk Concetta Brooks. “The only ones we’ll be voting for on Aug. 8 is if they are running for a Democratic position or a Republican position.”

Brooks says the names you see on campaign signs now may not be on your August ballot. The primaries focus is on Republican and Democratic candidates.

You won’t see independent candidates on the ballot till November.

“If you’ve got a person in mind and you go to the polls and you see that that person that you have thought about supporting all this time is not on the ballot, it’s not a mistake, we’ve checked the ballots over and over,” Brooks said. “All the candidates that’s supposed to be in the primaries are listed on the ballot.”

A good way to prepare for next month is by looking at sample ballots now.

“look at those ballots before you determine which party you want to support at that time: read over those sample ballots, see who the candidates are in each of the races and whatever position you stand of who you want to support or which way you want to vote, go from there,” Brooks said.

In order to be eligible to vote in the primary election, Mississippians must have been registered by 5 p.m. on July 10.

If you’re not registered to vote for the primaries, you still have time to vote in the general election in November.

You must be registered 30 days before an election to vote.

To find sample ballots for some counties in the Pine Belt, click HERE.

Want more WDAM 7 news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Copyright 2023 WDAM. All rights reserved.