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It’s Election Day in Mississippi. Here’s what’s on the ballot.

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State and local offices will be on the ballot across the state on Tuesday, headlined by the governor’s race between incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves and Democratic challenger Brandon Presley.

But across the state, much more will be on the ballot. Voters will see elections for all eight statewide offices, all 174 legislative seats, 22 district attorney seats, and various county offices such as for sheriff and supervisor.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today. To locate your voting precinct and view sample ballots, click here.

Absentee voting numbers are higher this year than four years ago — a signal that can portend a high in-person turnout for a statewide election. As of Monday, there had been 56,403 absentee ballots completed and returned to local circuit clerks’ offices, compared to a little over 48,000 absentee votes counted in the 2019 statewide election. More than 62,000 absentee ballots have been requested for this election. Mailed absentee ballots will be counted as long as they are postmarked by election day and are returned through the mail to the local circuit clerk’s office by Nov. 15.

People who have recently moved and now live in a new precinct but did not have time to change their residency with their local circuit clerk’s office should vote at their new precinct. According to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office, the person living in the new location should vote by affidavit and place their new address on their affidavit envelope. Listing the new address on the envelope will change their voting location for future elections and the affidavit ballot should count for Tuesday’s election.

READ MORE: Mississippi Today’s complete voter guide for the Nov. 7 general election

Below are previews of the key elections on Nov. 7.

Governor

Republican incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves faces Democratic challenger Brandon Presley on Nov. 7. A third candidate, independent Gwendolyn Gray, dropped out of the race in October but will will be on the ballot. Gray’s candidacy could throw the race into chaos, potentially forcing the first gubernatorial runoff in state history.

Election preview: Could the 2023 governor’s race be decided by a runoff? For the first time in state history, it’s possible.

Lieutenant Governor

Incumbent Republican Delbert Hosemann, seeking a second and final term as lieutenant governor, faces Democratic challenger D. Ryan Grover.

Election preview: Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann faces challenge from Ryan Grover

Attorney General

Incumbent Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch faces Democratic challenger Greta Kemp Martin.

Election preview: Greta Kemp Martin makes reproductive health a focus against Attorney General Lynn Fitch

Secretary of State

Incumbent Republican Secretary of State Michael Watson, seeking a second term, faces Democratic challenger Ty Pinkins.

Election preview: Secretary of State Michael Watson faces challenger Ty Pinkins

State Treasurer

Democrat Addie Lee Green is challenging Republican incumbent Treasurer David McRae.

Election preview: Treasurer David McRae faces challenge from Addie Lee Green

State Auditor

Republican incumbent Auditor Shad White faces a challenge from Democrat Larry Bradford.

Election preview: Auditor Shad White faces challenge from Larry Bradford

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce

Incumbent Republican Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson faces Democratic nominee Robert Bradford.

Election preview: Ag Commissioner Andy Gipson faces challenger Robert Bradford

Commissioner of Insurance

Republican Mike Chaney, seeking his fifth term as Mississippi insurance commissioner, is being challenged by Democrat Bruce Burton in Tuesday’s general election.

Election preview: Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney faces challenger Bruce Burton

Legislative races

Even though all 122 legislative districts will be on Tuesday, Democrats have no chance of wrestling control from the Republican majority later this fall.

Because Democrats are not challenging in enough legislative seats to gain control, the best they can hope for is ending supermajority Republican control of both the House and Senate.

Election preview: Only hope for legislative Democrats in November: ending Republican supermajorities

District attorney and sheriff races

At least 20 new sheriffs and three new district attorneys are expected to take office next year, and that number could grow after runoff elections later this month and the November general election.

Election Preview: New faces emerge as winners in sheriffs and DA races

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi Today

On this day in 1946

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-12-23 07:00:00

Dec. 23, 1946

Chuck Cooper Credit: Wikipedia

University of Tennessee refused to play a basketball game with Duquesne University, because they had a Black player, Chuck Cooper. Despite their refusal, the all-American player and U.S. Navy veteran went on to become the first Black player to participate in a college basketball game south of the Mason-Dixon line. Cooper became the first Black player ever drafted in the NBA — drafted by the Boston Celtics. He went on to be admitted to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Podcast: Ray Higgins: PERS needs both extra cash and benefit changes for future employees

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mississippitoday.org – Bobby Harrison – 2024-12-23 06:30:00

Mississippi Today’s Bobby Harrison talks with Ray Higgins, executive director of the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System, about proposed changes in pension benefits for future employees and what is needed to protect the system for current employees and retirees. Higgins also stresses the importance of the massive system to the Mississippi economy.

READ MORE: As lawmakers look to cut taxes, Mississippi mayors and county leaders outline infrastructure needs

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

‘Bringing mental health into the spaces where moms already are’: UMMC program takes off

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mississippitoday.org – Sophia Paffenroth – 2024-12-23 06:00:00

A program aimed at increasing access to mental health services for mothers has taken off at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. 

The program, called CHAMP4Moms, is an extension of an existing program called CHAMP – which stands for Child Access to Mental Health and Psychiatry. The goal is to make it easier for moms to reach mental health resources during a phase when some may need it the most and have the least time. 

CHAMP4Moms offers a direct phone line that health providers can call if they are caring for a pregnant woman or new mother they believe may have unaddressed mental health issues. On the line, health providers can speak directly to a reproductive psychiatrist who can guide them on how to screen, diagnose and treat mothers. That means that moms don’t have to go out of their way to find a psychiatrist, and health care providers who don’t have extensive training in psychiatry can still help these women. 

“Basically, we’re trying to bring mental health into the spaces where moms already are,” explained Calandrea Taylor, the program manager. “Because of the low workforce that we have in the state, it’s a lot to try to fill the state with mental health providers. But what we do is bring the mental health practice to you and where mothers are. And we’re hoping that that reduces stigma.”

Launched in 2023, the program has had a slow lift off, Taylor said. But the phone line is up and running, as the team continues to make additions to the program – including a website with resources that Taylor expects will go live next year. 

To fill the role of medical director, UMMC brought in a California-based reproductive psychiatrist, Dr. Emily Dossett. Dossett, who grew up in Mississippi and still has family in the state, says it has been rewarding to come full circle and serve her home state – which suffers a dearth of mental health providers and has no reproductive psychiatrists

“I love it. It’s really satisfying to take the experience I’ve been able to pull together over the past 20 years practicing medicine and then apply it to a place I love,” Dossett said. “I feel like I understand the people I work with, I relate to them, I like hearing where they’re from and being able to picture it … That piece of it has really been very much a joy.”

As medical director, Dossett is able to educate maternal health providers on mental health issues. But she’s also an affiliate professor at UMMC, which she says allows her to train up the next generation of psychiatrists on the importance of maternal and reproductive psychiatry – an often-overlooked aspect in the field. 

If people think of reproductive mental health at all, they likely think of postpartum depression, Dossett said. But reproductive psychiatry is far more encompassing than just the postpartum time period – and includes many more conditions than just depression. 

“Most reproductive psychiatrists work with pregnant and postpartum people, but there’s also work to be done around people who have issues connected to their menstrual cycle or perimenopause,” she explained. “… There’s depression, certainly. But we actually see more anxiety, which comes in lots of different forms – it can be panic disorder, general anxiety, OCD.”

Tackling mental health in this population doesn’t just improve people’s quality of life. It can be lifesaving – and has the potential to mitigate some of the state’s worst health metrics.

Mental health disorders are the leading cause of pregnancy-related death, which is defined by the Centers for Disease Control as any death up to a year postpartum that is caused by or worsened by pregnancy. 

In Mississippi, 80% of pregnancy-related deaths between 2016 and 2020 were deemed preventable, according to the latest Mississippi Maternal Mortality Report.

Mississippi is not alone in this, Dossett said. Historically, mental health has not been taken seriously in the western world, for a number of reasons – including stigma and a somewhat arbitrary division between mind and body, Dossett explained.

“You see commercials on TV of happy pregnant ladies. You see magazines of celebrities and their baby bumps, and everybody is super happy. And so, if you don’t feel that way, there’s this tremendous amount of shame … But another part of it is medicine and the way that our health system is set up, it’s just classically divided between physical and mental health.”

Dossett encourages women to tell their doctor about any challenges they’re facing – even if they seem normal.

“There are a lot of people who have significant symptoms, but they think it’s normal,” Dossett said. “They don’t know that there’s a difference between the sort of normal adjustment that people have after having a baby – and it is a huge adjustment – and symptoms that get in the way of their ability to connect or bond with the baby, or their ability to eat or sleep, or take care of their other children or eventually go to work.”

She also encourages health care providers to develop a basic understanding of mental health issues and to ask patients questions about their mood, thoughts and feelings. 

CHAMP4Moms is a resource Dossett hopes providers will take advantage of – but she also hopes they will shape and inform the program in its inaugural year. 

“We’re available, we’re open for calls, we’re open for feedback and suggestions, we’re open for collaboration,” she said. “We want this to be something that can hopefully really move the needle on perinatal mental health and substance use in the state – and I think it can.”

Providers can call the CHAMP main line at 601-984-2080 for resources and referral options throughout the state. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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