//Run for office · Mississippi

How to run for local office in Mississippi

Mississippi emails the statewide voter file and voter history to anyone who signs up, free, every week, and 2027 is the year every county office and school board seat is on the ballot.

Facts checked against official sources · September 9, 2026

Mississippi elects its county governments and state officers together every four years, and 2027 is that year: supervisors, sheriff, chancery and circuit clerks, tax assessor and collector, coroner, constables, and justice court judges all go through party primaries in August and the general election on November 2, 2027, with county school board seats on the same November ballot. County candidates qualify with their party's county executive committee for $100 (independents with the circuit clerk by petition), school board candidates qualify by petition of 50 voters between the 105th and 75th day before the election, and municipal offices run on their own four-year cycle through the municipal clerk.

Two things stand out for a local campaign. The Secretary of State's Statewide Voter File Weekly Distribution Program sends a CSV of every registered voter, with precinct and every district assignment, plus a separate voting-history file, to anyone on its email list at no cost every week. And campaign finance is decentralized and light: county candidates file paper reports with the circuit clerk and municipal candidates with the municipal clerk, there is no limit on individual or PAC contributions, and only corporations are capped, at $1,000 per calendar year.

Election authority: Mississippi Secretary of State, Elections Division
Voter file: Public record — anyone can obtain it · No cost through the weekly distribution program (Statewide Voter File Weekly Distribution Program notice, 2025).
Campaign finance: Campaign Finance Online Filing Portal (cfportal.sos.ms.gov) for statewide, district, legislative, and judicial filers; county and municipal filers file on paper with the circuit clerk or municipal clerk (Mississippi Secretary of State, Elections Division (campaign finance))
How voters vote: In person, with excuse-required absentee voting
Registration deadline: 30 days before the election (Miss. Code 23-15-47): October 3, 2027 for the November 2, 2027 general. Register in person with the circuit clerk (or municipal clerk for municipal elections) or by the Secretary of State's mail-in application postmarked by the deadline.
Local offices: County offices and the legislature are partisan, nominated in August party primaries (first Tuesday in August of the statewide election year, runoff three weeks later) unless you run as an independent by petition. Mississippi has no party registration, so any voter may choose either party's primary ballot but may not vote in one party's primary and the other party's runoff. School board seats are nonpartisan. Municipal offices are partisan or independent depending on how you qualify.

Who runs elections in Mississippi

Mississippi Secretary of State, Elections Division The Secretary of State publishes the annual elections calendar with code citations, the Candidate Qualifying Guide, and the Campaign Finance Guide, qualifies statewide, district, legislative, and judicial candidates, receives their campaign finance reports, runs the statewide voter registration system, and distributes the statewide voter file. County and municipal candidates qualify and report locally, but the Secretary of State's guides are the reference every circuit clerk and municipal clerk works from. Elections Answerline: 1-800-829-6786.

The circuit clerk is the county registrar: the clerk registers voters, keeps the county roll in the statewide system, runs in-person absentee voting at the clerk's office, and receives mail absentee ballots. County election commissioners, elected by district in the statewide election year, run general and special elections; party county executive committees run the primaries. Inside a municipality, the municipal clerk registers municipal voters and accepts municipal candidate filings, and municipal election commissioners run municipal elections.

Getting the Mississippi voter file

The voter file is the list of every registered voter, with the fields a campaign needs to target: address, party where the state records it, and vote history. In Mississippi it comes from Mississippi Secretary of State, Statewide Voter File Weekly Distribution Program.

Access: Public record — anyone can obtain it
Cost: No cost through the weekly distribution program (Statewide Voter File Weekly Distribution Program notice, 2025).
Format: CSV, one row per voter for the registration file and one row per voter per election in the history file. The files are large enough that the Secretary of State advises loading them into a database rather than a spreadsheet.
Vote history: Included
Phone numbers: Not included
Updated: Weekly, by email link, covering active and inactive voters.

Who can get it: Anyone who signs up for the Statewide Voter File Distribution List with the Secretary of State's office. Subscribers get an email every week with a ShareFile link to the current statewide voter file and statewide voter history file. The same file is available through a public records request if you need it outside the weekly cycle; the office will not resend a weekly email.

Permitted use: Distributed as a public record; the program notice states no use restriction. Confirm any limits on commercial use with the Elections Division before repurposing the file outside a campaign.

County option: Not needed for data: the weekly statewide file carries residential county, precinct code and name, and every district assignment, so you filter to your county, supervisor district, ward, or school district. The circuit clerk can also produce the county roll; ask the clerk about any fee.

Registration file fields: mapping value (the voter key), first, middle, and last name, suffix, residential address parsed into house number, street name, type, and directionals, residence city, state, ZIP, and county, precinct code and name, mailing address, effective registration date, voter status, date last voted, followed by the voter's district assignments.
Voting history file fields: mapping value, name, election name, election type, and political party, one row per election the voter participated in. Mississippi registers voters without party, so party appears only as the primary ballot chosen in the history file.

Whatever file you get, Culper imports it as a CSV and maps the columns for you. See how to read a voter file for what the fields mean.

Filing to run for local office in Mississippi

Mississippi has three paths. Party candidates for county and county district offices file a Qualifying Statement of Intent for a Candidate for Party Nomination with the county party executive committee and pay a $100 fee to the party; they win the party's nomination in the August primary. Independent county candidates file a statement of intent, a petition certified by the circuit clerk (50 registered voters for a countywide office, 15 for a district office), and a $100 fee with the circuit clerk, and go straight to the November ballot. School board trustees are nonpartisan: a statement of intent plus a petition of 50 registered voters of the district (20 percent of the voters if the district has fewer than 100) filed no earlier than the 105th day and no later than 5 p.m. on the 75th day before the election. Municipal party candidates pay $10 to the municipal party executive committee and file with the municipal clerk; municipal independents file a statement and a certified petition with the municipal clerk. Every deadline is a receipt deadline at 5 p.m., never a postmark.

File with: County and county district offices: the county executive committee of your party (party candidates) or the circuit clerk (independents). Municipal offices: the municipal clerk of your city. School board: the qualifying office the SOS Candidate Qualifying Guide lists for your district type (county districts qualify through the county; municipal separate districts through the municipal clerk). Statewide, legislative, district attorney, and judicial offices: the state party executive committee or the Secretary of State.
Filing fee: County and county district offices: $100, paid to the county party executive committee (party candidates) or to the county (independents). Municipal offices: $10 to the municipal party executive committee for party candidates. School board: no fee, petition only. Legislative seats: $250 to the state party (SOS Candidate Qualifying Guide, rev. 12/2025).
Petition: Independent county candidates: not fewer than 50 qualified electors of the county for a countywide office or 15 of the district for a district office, certified by the circuit clerk before filing. School board: 50 qualified electors of the district, or 20 percent of them if the district has fewer than 100, certified by the circuit clerk of the county where the signatures were collected. Municipal independents: the statutory number for your municipality, certified by the municipal clerk. Party candidates need no petition.
Partisan?: County offices and the legislature are partisan, nominated in August party primaries (first Tuesday in August of the statewide election year, runoff three weeks later) unless you run as an independent by petition. Mississippi has no party registration, so any voter may choose either party's primary ballot but may not vote in one party's primary and the other party's runoff. School board seats are nonpartisan. Municipal offices are partisan or independent depending on how you qualify.

Filing window: School board (county, special municipal separate, and consolidated districts): from the 105th day through 5 p.m. on the 75th day before the election, which for the November 2, 2027 general election is July 20 through August 19, 2027 (SOS Candidate Qualifying Guide; for November 3, 2026 the window was July 21 to August 20, 2026). County and state offices in the 2027 statewide election year: party and independent qualifying closes at 5 p.m. on March 1 under Miss. Code 23-15-299; the Secretary of State's 2027 guide will publish the opening date. Municipal offices follow the municipal election cycle, next held in 2029. Special election qualifying runs from the date the board of supervisors orders the election to the deadline it sets.

Key Mississippi dates
What	When	Note
Party and independent qualifying deadline, 2027 county and state offices	Varies	Miss. Code 23-15-299 sets 5 p.m. March 1 in statewide election years; confirm the exact 2027 window in the SOS 2027 Candidate Qualifying Guide when posted. Receipt deadline, not postmark.
School board qualifying opens, November 2, 2027 election	July 20, 2027	105th day before the election (SOS Candidate Qualifying Guide, rev. 12/2025).
Party primary, county and state offices	August 3, 2027	First Tuesday in August of the statewide election year (Miss. Code 23-15-1031); runoff three weeks later. Confirm on the SOS 2027 calendar.
School board qualifying deadline, November 2, 2027 election	August 19, 2027	5 p.m. on the 75th day before the election; statement of intent plus a petition of 50 registered voters of the district.
Voter registration deadline, November 2, 2027 general election	October 3, 2027	30 days before the election (Miss. Code 23-15-47); register with the circuit clerk or by mailed application postmarked by the deadline.
General election, county offices and school boards	November 2, 2027	First Tuesday after the first Monday in November; polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Miss. Code 23-15-171, 23-15-541). Runoffs, where a majority is required, three weeks later.

County and county district office covers sheriff, chancery clerk, circuit clerk, tax assessor, tax collector, county attorney, supervisor, surveyor, coroner, and constable; election commissioners and school district offices qualify separately (SOS Candidate Qualifying Guide).
Supervisors, election commissioners, and constables must have lived in their district for two years before the general election (Miss. Code 19-3-3, 23-15-213, 23-15-300).

Campaign finance rules in Mississippi

State-level campaign finance in Mississippi is overseen by Mississippi Secretary of State, Elections Division (campaign finance) through Campaign Finance Online Filing Portal (cfportal.sos.ms.gov) for statewide, district, legislative, and judicial filers; county and municipal filers file on paper with the circuit clerk or municipal clerk.

Where local candidates file: Where you file depends on the office (2026 Campaign Finance Guide). Statewide, state district, legislative, and judicial candidates file with the Secretary of State. County and county district candidates (supervisor, sheriff, clerks, assessor, collector, coroner, constable, justice court judge) file with the circuit clerk of the county. Municipal candidates file with the municipal clerk. Reports may be filed by hand delivery, mail, email, fax, or electronically and must be received by 5 p.m. on the deadline. You become a 'candidate' with reporting duties when you file qualifying papers or when you raise or spend more than $200 in the aggregate, whichever comes first. Ask the circuit clerk which office receives school board trustee reports in your district.

Contribution limits: Mississippi sets no limit on contributions from individuals or political committees to county, municipal, legislative, or statewide candidates. The one cap is on corporations, incorporated companies, and incorporated associations: no more than $1,000 per calendar year, directly or indirectly, to a party, a candidate, or a candidate's committee (Miss. Code 97-13-15). Contributions over $200 must be itemized, and any contribution over $200 received after the 10th day before an election but more than 48 hours before election day must be reported to the filing office within 48 hours.

Reporting: Pre-election report due no later than the 7th day before any election in which you have raised or spent money, complete as of the 10th day before (unopposed candidates skip it). In statewide election years such as 2027, periodic reports are due by the 10th day after April 30, May 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31 (Miss. Code 23-15-807). In other years, an annual report covering the calendar year is due by January 31 (the 2025 report was due January 30, 2026 at the circuit clerk or municipal clerk). A termination report ends your obligation once the account is closed out.

Every candidate files a Statement of Economic Interest with the Mississippi Ethics Commission within 15 days of qualifying; that is a separate agency from the campaign finance filing office.

Limits and thresholds change. Treat the figures here as a starting point and confirm the current schedule with Mississippi Secretary of State, Elections Division (campaign finance) before you accept a check. Our campaign finance basics guide covers the bookkeeping every local candidate needs on day one.

How voting works in Mississippi

In person, with excuse-required absentee voting. Mississippi has no early voting. Voters go to their precinct on election day, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with photo ID. Voters with a listed reason can vote absentee, either in person at the circuit clerk's office (or municipal clerk for municipal elections) starting 45 days before the election, or by mail. Absentee reasons include being 65 or older, a temporary or permanent disability, being away from the county on election day for any reason, students and teachers away at school, and work schedules that conflict with poll hours.

Early voting: None in the usual sense. In-person absentee voting at the circuit clerk's office runs 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays beginning 45 days before the election (September 19, 2026 for the November 3, 2026 election), with the clerk's office open until noon on the last Saturday before the election (Miss. Code 23-15-653). You must have one of the statutory absentee reasons.
Mail ballots: Excuse required; mail ballots are limited to voters who are temporarily residing outside the county, 65 or older, disabled, or otherwise in a listed category. Apply to the circuit clerk; the ballot envelope must be signed before a notary or other official authorized to administer oaths unless the voter is disabled. The ballot must be postmarked on or before election day and received by the circuit clerk within five business days after the election (November 10, 2026 for the November 3, 2026 election).
Registration deadline: 30 days before the election (Miss. Code 23-15-47): October 3, 2027 for the November 2, 2027 general. Register in person with the circuit clerk (or municipal clerk for municipal elections) or by the Secretary of State's mail-in application postmarked by the deadline.
Same-day registration: No

Knowing who has already voted: There is no early voting roster because there is no early voting. The circuit clerk records every in-person absentee vote and every mail ballot application and return, so ask the clerk for the running absentee list during the 45-day window and for the schedule on which the clerk can update it; the list is kept at the county level and the Secretary of State does not publish a daily statewide roster. After the election, the weekly statewide voter history file adds a row for each voter who participated, and the registration file's date-last-voted field updates once the county posts the election.

Local government in Mississippi: what you can run for

Mississippi's counties are governed by a board of supervisors elected by district, alongside separately elected sheriff, chancery clerk, circuit clerk, tax assessor, tax collector, coroner, county attorney, surveyor, constables, and justice court judges, plus election commissioners elected by district, all chosen in the statewide election year. School districts come in several forms (county, municipal separate, special municipal separate, consolidated, and consolidated line districts) with trustees elected by petition-qualified nonpartisan candidates. Municipalities are mostly code charter cities and towns with a mayor and board of aldermen, plus council and commission forms under special charters; the municipal clerk is the local election official.

County supervisor
Sheriff
Chancery clerk
Circuit clerk
Tax assessor or tax collector
Coroner
Constable
Justice court judge
County election commissioner
School board trustee
Mayor
Alderman or council member
State representative
State senator

When local elections happen: County and state offices are elected together every four years (2027, 2031) with party primaries on the first Tuesday in August, runoffs three weeks later, and the general election on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. County school board and other school trustee elections are held on the November general election date, with qualifying 105 to 75 days out. Municipal offices run on a separate four-year cycle (last held 2025, next 2029). Even years carry federal elections; special elections to fill vacancies are called by the board of supervisors or the municipal governing board on a date they set.

The Secretary of State's annual elections calendar gives every statutory date with its Miss. Code citation; download the 2027 edition when it posts and work backward from November 2, 2027.

Running your Mississippi campaign on Culper

Culper does not license voter data in Mississippi today. You upload the Mississippi voter file described above as a CSV, and every feature runs on it: search and lists, plain-English queries, texting and email, block walking, and volunteer coordination. Online donation processing is in development; ask about timing on the onboarding call. Your file stays in your campaign's workspace and is never shared with another campaign.

Set up your Mississippi campaign in an afternoon

Upload the voter file, ask for your first list in plain English, and hand your volunteers the walking app. Signup is open to candidates in every state. Pricing is set after a short call so it matches the size of the race.

Get started Book a demo

Mississippi questions we get asked

How do I qualify to run for county supervisor or sheriff in Mississippi in 2027?

As a party candidate, file a Qualifying Statement of Intent for a Candidate for Party Nomination with your party's county executive committee and pay the $100 fee before the 2027 qualifying deadline, which Miss. Code 23-15-299 sets at 5 p.m. March 1 in statewide election years; then win the August 3, 2027 primary. As an independent, file a statement of intent, a $100 fee, and a petition certified by the circuit clerk (50 registered voters countywide, 15 for a supervisor or constable district) with the circuit clerk by the same deadline and go straight to the November 2, 2027 ballot. Mississippi treats every qualifying deadline as a receipt deadline.

How do I run for school board in Mississippi?

Mississippi school board seats are nonpartisan and filled by petition. File a Qualifying Statement of Intent and a petition signed by at least 50 registered voters of the district (20 percent if the district has fewer than 100 voters), certified by the circuit clerk of the county where the signatures were gathered, no earlier than the 105th day and no later than 5 p.m. on the 75th day before the election. For the November 2, 2027 election that window is July 20 through August 19, 2027. There is no filing fee.

How do I get the Mississippi voter file, and does it cost anything?

Sign up for the Mississippi Secretary of State's Statewide Voter File Weekly Distribution Program and you will get an email every week with a link to a CSV of every registered voter (name, residential and mailing address, county, precinct, registration date, status, date last voted, and every district assignment) plus a separate voting-history file with one row per voter per election. It is free. Phone numbers are not included, and Mississippi has no party registration, so party shows up only as the primary ballot a voter took.

Are there contribution limits for local candidates in Mississippi?

Not for individuals or PACs. Mississippi caps only corporate money: a corporation, incorporated company, or incorporated association may give no more than $1,000 per calendar year to a candidate, a candidate's committee, or a party (Miss. Code 97-13-15). Contributions over $200 must be itemized on your reports, and a contribution over $200 received in the last 10 days before an election must be reported within 48 hours.

Where do Mississippi county and city candidates file campaign finance reports?

Locally, on paper. County and county district candidates in Mississippi file with the circuit clerk; municipal candidates file with the municipal clerk; only statewide, legislative, district, and judicial candidates file with the Secretary of State. Reports are due by 5 p.m. on the 7th day before any election you are in, plus periodic reports in the 2027 statewide election year (10 days after April 30, May 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31) and an annual report by January 31 in other years.

Does Mississippi have early voting, and how do I know who has voted absentee?

No early voting. Mississippi voters who qualify for an excuse (65 or older, disabled, away from the county on election day, students, work conflicts) can vote absentee in person at the circuit clerk's office beginning 45 days before the election, or by mail with a notarized envelope postmarked by election day. The circuit clerk keeps the absentee applications and returns, so ask the clerk for the running list during the window; the state posts no daily roster.

When is the voter registration deadline in Mississippi for the 2027 election?

October 3, 2027 for the November 2, 2027 general election, 30 days out under Miss. Code 23-15-47; the deadline for the August 3, 2027 primary is 30 days before that date. Mississippi voters register with the circuit clerk in person or by a mailed application postmarked by the deadline. There is no same-day registration.

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Sources

Facts on this page were checked against the official sources below on September 9, 2026. Rules change between cycles; when a number here and the agency disagree, the agency is right.