Researching Initiatives and Referendums: A Guide for Mississippi

Abstract

SUMMARY This article outlines the constitutional and statutory requirements for an initiative measure to be successfully placed on the ballot in Mississippi. This work also illustrates the unique history behind the Mississippi initiative and referendum process: Mississippi is the only state in the Union to have once received the initiative process and then lost it due to a legal technicality, only to gain it again after popular agitation and political pressure. Researchers are provided a specific guide to the legal frame for the initiative process. This guide should aid a researcher in navigating the complex initiative process that encompasses all three branches of state government as well as local county clerks throughout Mississippi.