The qualifying period for 2024 candidates running for election began Tuesday morning. Elections will be conducted for the offices of U.S. President, Vice President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, and Supreme Court justices, as well as Court of Appeals judges and county election commissioners.

Candidates can access the Secretary of State’s official 2024 Candidate Qualifying Guide — which provides essential information for anyone seeking elected office — at sos.ms.gov. Candidates should familiarize themselves with the legal qualifications required to seek and hold office, as well as the qualifying procedures.

The qualifying deadline for all candidates for Senate and Representative is Jan. 12, 2024, at 5 p.m.

The qualifying deadline for the Presidential Preference Primary is Jan. 15, 2024, at 5 p.m.

Non-partisan judicial offices and Election Commissioners are required to qualify by Feb. 1, 2024, at 5 p.m.

 

General qualifications for office

A candidate for judicial, county district or school district office must be a qualified elector (registered voter) of the State of Mississippi and of the district, county or county district of the office for which the candidate seeks election. Miss. Const. of 1890, Art. XII, § 250.

A candidate for U. S. Senate or U. S. House of Representatives must be a resident of the State of Mississippi as of the date of his/her election to office.

All candidates for office must never have been convicted of:

• Bribery, perjury or other infamous crime, being defined as a crime punishable by a minimum of one (1) year confinement in the state penitentiary, unless pardoned for the offense. Miss. Const. of 1890, Art. IV, § 44.

• A felony in a court of this state; or, of a felony in a federal court or of a crime in a court of another state which is a felony under the laws of this state on or after December 8, 1992; excluding, however, a conviction of manslaughter or a violation of the United States Internal Revenue Code or any violation of the tax laws of this state, unless the offense also involved the misuse or abuse of an office or money coming into a candidate’s hands by virtue of an office. Miss. Const. of 1890, Art. IV, § 44.

Additional qualifications by office may be found in the Candidate Qualifying Guide.

 

2024 Election Dates

• March 12, 2024 – Presidential Preference Primary; Primary Election Day

• April 2, 2024 – Primary Runoff Election Day

• June 4, 2024 – General Election Mississippi Levee District Commissioner

• Nov. 5, 2024 – General/Special Election Day

• Nov. 26, 2024 – General/Special Runoff Election Day