With congressional primaries in Mississippi less than a week away, voter turnout is already proving to be low, according to Secretary of State Michael Watson.
Watson, a Republican whose office manages elections and encourages eligible residents to participate, said Tuesday that approximately 9,000 absentee ballots have been sent as the early-voting process is soon to wrap up.
“I hope folks are making plans now (to vote). We’ve got a really low turnout so far,” he said during an appearance on MidDays with Gerard Gibert. “It’s terrible for Mississippi. We’ve got to do better.”
RELATED: What to know about Mississippi’s congressional primaries
Mississippi voters unable to vote on the election date of Tuesday, March 10, have only days remaining to turn in absentee ballots. Circuit clerk offices statewide are open during normal business hours and then again on Saturday, March 7, from 8 a.m. until noon for those eligible to vote absentee in-person. For those absentee voting by mail, ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and returned to circuit clerk offices.
Eligible reasons for voting absentee include, but are not limited to, being out of town on Election Day, living with a disability, or being older than 65.
Otherwise, polling places will be open on Election Day from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. All four of the state’s U.S. House seats and one of its two U.S. Senate seats are up for grabs with seven contested primaries happening on the Republican and Democratic sides.
According to Watson, voter turnout in Mississippi is historically low with not much movement in recent years. During the 2022 congressional primaries, approximately 11% of voters participated. That was out of over 2 million registered voters on the books.