In 2016, a small group of college students began to research voting trends in Mississippi in correlation with a.) the number of eligible voters in the state and b.) the demographic makeup of the state. Their objective was to register as many Mississippians to vote as possible for what they believed would be the most crucial elections of Mississippi’s modern electoral history 2018-2020. They were especially interested in engaging young voters. Armed with the knowledge that approximately 445,000 citizens in Mississippi are unregistered and that many of those voters skew younger, poorer, and include the most marginalized populations in the state, especially black and brown citizens, that group of young people founded what is now known as Mississippi Votes. Our organizational mission is to cultivate a culture of civic engagement throughout the state of Mississippi. Since its inception, Mississippi Votes has evolved and grown by intentionally incorporating research and evaluation and by deeply listening to the people of Mississippi. We have strengthened our leadership and outreach across the state; tested, updated and deepened our organizing model, and incorporated programming that best reflects the people of Mississippi. We aim to empower people across the state, especially those who are most often unheard. We are a nonpartisan civic engagement organization composed of intergenerational synergy. We trust, value, and adhere to the leadership of young people and are invested in the forward progression of the state of Mississippi. We believe that holistic civic engagement in our state is the most critical piece in attaining true democracy. It is our belief that Mississippi Votes’ programming and approach to place-based community organizing evokes a spirit of self-determination in the hearts of Mississippians that urges them to move beyond the voter registration tables, to the polls, and into positions of power.
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