The original ballot initiative and referendum process in Mississippi was established in 1992. Since that time, 76 Mississippi citizens or organizations have attempted to use this constitutionally guaranteed process to place an initiative on the ballot. 68 of these attempts have failed simply due to not surviving the rigorous nature of the process, and 5 of the attempts that survived were voted against. The only 3 initiatives that have survived the original process and been voted in by Mississippians are Voter ID, Eminent Domain, and Medical Marijuana.

After a lawsuit following the Medical Marijuana vote, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that the process must be invalidated due to the language surrounding the congressional districts. The Legislature has attempted to revive the ballot initiative using a statutory process in both 2022 and 2023 sessions but were unable to come to an agreement regarding the nature of signature gathering and the requirement for number of signatures. We applaud the Legislature for their efforts in attempting to address this issue quickly for their constituents; however, the citizens of Mississippi need the opportunity to utilize the initiative and referendum process in order to have their voices heard.