Mississippi election officials have made 161 voting precinct changes since November 2022, leaving voters with slightly fewer voting precincts statewide and dozens moved after the completion of post-Census redistricting efforts, a Mississippi Free Press investigation has found.
The Mississippi Free Press found that statewide, local election officials moved 92 preexisting precincts to new polling locations; closed 41 old precincts; and opened 28 new precincts. There are now 1,748 voting precincts statewide, down 13 since the November 2022 general. Click or scroll to the three tables below to see full lists of which voting places have moved, closed and newly opened. We have separately published a complete list of all precincts statewide.
The investigation also found dozens of discrepancies between information in the Mississippi Secretary of State’s system and what county officials provided, which could send some voters to the wrong address; we sought to rectify those conflicts by contacting dozens of county officials.
Lawrence County Slashed 46% of Precincts
One small county accounted for about 85% of the net decrease in voting precincts statewide; Lawrence County in the southeast part of the state closed 12 old precincts and opened just one new one, resulting in a net decrease of 11 voting precincts. That leaves the county with just 13 voting precincts, down from 24 during last year’s primaries and general election.
Sponsor Message
Other counties closed a significant number of old precincts but counterbalanced those closings by opening new precincts after redistricting. For example, Jackson County on the coast closed seven precincts, but opened six new ones; Pearl River County closed three precincts but opened four; Harrison County closed three and opened one. Only Lawrence County slashed its total precincts nearly in half.
While counties often do gain or lose precincts due to population changes and redistricting, Lawrence County’s population only declined 9% between the 2010 and 2020 Censuses, from 12,929 residents to 11,713—a far smaller decline than its overall 46% decrease in total voting precincts. The Mississippi Free Press called the county’s circuit clerk, election commissioners and supervisors to ask about the changes but has not heard back by press time.
Read original article by clicking here.