Mississippi ballot initiative process faces narrowing path to being restored

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A push to revive Mississippi’s ballot initiative process is in peril as proposals are receiving weak support from Senate Republicans, and the House and Senate are pushing significantly different plans.

In a narrow 26-21 vote Thursday, the state Senate gave first approval to a bill that would allow Mississippi residents to put some policy proposals on statewide ballots. But several Senate Republicans, who dominate the chamber, voted against the proposal that already contains core differences from a competing measure passed by the House in January.

“I would call it on life support at this point,” said Sen. David Parker, the Republican sponsor of the Senate proposal, when asked about reviving the initiative process.

A state Supreme Court ruling in 2021 invalidated the process for putting issues on statewide ballots. During 2022 and 2023, the House and Senate disagreed on details for a new initiative process. House Speaker Jason White has said restoring initiatives was a core concern of most voters he spoke to during the 2023 election.

The House passed a resolution in January to restore the ballot initiative process through a constitutional amendment, which would eventually require a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate. The Senate bill, which heads to the House, would not require a two-thirds vote because it wouldn’t change the state constitution, but it contains provisions that could be a tough sell in the lower chamber.

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