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Activate Mississippi

About Activate Mississippi

The SPLC’s Activate Mississippi initiative is the umbrella initiative by which we seek to bridge the worlds of arts, activism and voter education. Activate Mississippi applies a cultural approach to civic engagement and community. The initiative provides real-time information to assist voters and other community stakeholders in key decision-making. We do this by working with the community stakeholders and experts to host discussion tables, town halls, public awareness campaigns and any other necessary and niche activities to meet and service the needs of the community.

About The Road to 60: Reigniting the Fight for Freedom Campaign

The Road to 60: Reigniting the Fight for Freedom Campaign is a multifaceted campaign that introduces teens and college students to the multiple layers of civic engagement. The campaign focuses on voter education, volunteerism, organization and mobilization. The campaign provides an opportunity for youth and young adult engagement through these projects:

  • Adopt-A-Precinct Collaboration: Through the Adopt-A-Precinct Collaboration, partners are asked to volunteer to be poll workers, commit to registering, canvassing, calling and texting voters into key communities within your precincts and working with local faith-based institutions or other community partners to offer rides to the polls.
  • Fashion Is Freedom Design Contest and Showcase: Designed to inspire the next generation of fashion activist, the Fashion is Freedom Design Contest that invites artists from across Mississippi to submit their versions of art and democracy in motion. The design contest will serve as an exciting and innovative way to engage young fashion enthusiasts in the movement for social change and voter empowerment in Mississippi. Fashion is Freedom will feature the designs of Mississippi artists ages 16 and up. For details, please click here.
  • The Road to 60: Organize, Mobilize, Defend, Win Organizing and Training Summit: Set to convene in the heart of Mississippi, the Organize, Mobilize, Defend, Win Organizing and Training Summit serve as the convening space for Mississippi-focused organizers and community-based change agents. The summit will honor the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement and bring together key stakeholders and community members for a weekend of organizing, strategizing and mobilizing in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Mississippi Freedom Summer 1964. The event will be Aug. 15-17, 2024, in Jackson, Mississippi. To register, click here. For details, contact advocacy@splcenter.org.
  • Apathy Is Not an Option: Hype Up the Vote & Voter Education Town Hall Series engages students on Mississippi college campuses. Each event will be held with a campus partner organization and consist of an on-campus activation and voter education panel. For details, contact advocacy@splcenter.org.
  • The Road to 60 Volunteer Recruitment Program uses strategic activations across the state. We will use these events as volunteer recruitment programs to help support the efforts of our partners across the state. To volunteer for The Road to 60 campaign, contact advocacy@splcenter.org.

What Policies Might Affect Your Participation

During its 2023 session, the Mississippi State Legislature passed several pieces of legislation to further erode voting rights in the state of Mississippi. Among these pieces of legislation was a bill that specifically targeted voter registration.

Here’s a look into how the bill undermines democracy and weakens the voting rights of Mississippians:

Voter Registration and Citizenship Check

House Bill 1310 expands on a law from last session mandating a voter’s registration be checked against the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the USCIS database. Under the revised law, a voter flagged by a citizenship check will be:

  • Removed from the voter rolls and placed on inactive status in the Statewide Election Management System.
  • Forced to vote via affidavit in elections.
  • Sent a “confirmation notice” from their respective election officials to which they must provide proof of citizenship to said official to regain active status on the voter rolls.

The problem

Should a registered voter fail to verify their registration with the enumerated statutory documents within 30 days, they will be removed from the voter roll. The bill also creates Mississippi Code §23-15-152, which mandates the same removal process for anyone who misses two federal elections or three statewide elections. This removal is also triggered if the USPS reports a change of address, or if election officials receive “reliable information” [1] a voter has moved from their registered address. Should the affected voters fail to reply to the confirmation notice, they will be forced to vote via affidavit until they provide proof of residency.

What you can do

Upcoming Events

Coming Soon: Join us at one of our college activations stops.

Resources

[1] “Reliable information includes, but is not limited to: official mail returned as undeliverable by the county election commission, registrar or other county or municipal office, Secretary of State; application for homestead exemption filed by the voter at an address other than the address of current registration; or any information from another state or county entity indicating the voter no longer resides at the address of voter registration.”