MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) – Voting by mail is well underway, with people lining up outside precinct clerks’ offices across the country to submit their ballots.

In Mississippi, early voting does not exist, but mail-in voting allows those who would not be able to vote on Election Day to participate in the democratic process.

“If for any reason you are unable to enter during normal business hours, all 82 counties will be open this Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon to accommodate those who cannot enter during regular weekdays. So we’re kind of saying this cushion, and we’ll have a lot of students, we have 18 Wheeler drivers who vote with us regularly. We had a lot of firefighters come out again today because of that Election Day shift,” said Circuit Clerk Donna Jill Johnson.

If you vote by mail, you must have a legal reason to do so. Some of these reasons include being out of town, undergoing a medical procedure, or being over 65 years old. There are also other voting conditions.

“To vote by mail, you know, Mississippi has a voter ID, and it’s very successful. We have not had any problems since Delbert Hosemann initiated this process. Well, a photo ID, almost everyone has a driver’s license. Otherwise, you have a state-issued ID. It must be issued by the government, like by a school. It can’t come from your job like Walmart or the grocery store or something like that,” Johnson said.

And Johnson says absentee ballot turnout is high this year, which means turnout in November will reflect that.

“The Secretary of State’s office,” the judges declare, “participates in all elections based on the percentage of absentees and each county. It’s at the top. So that’s a good sign. Mississippi is going to see a big turnout on November 5,” Johnson said.

If you have moved within county lines and are already registered to vote in the same county, it is not too late to change your address when registering. You can do this until the last day of postal voting, Saturday November 2.

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