Hundreds of thousands of Mississippians are headed to the polls today to cast their ballot in the general election. State leaders are issuing some essential facts voters need to know before heading to vote.
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann has rolled out a new tool on his web site to help inform voters about the election.
Hosemann says this is the first election that voters can simply plug in their address to see their polling site and a sample of their ballot down to the local level.
"All of those will be on there but your local races will also be on there. So we encourage people to look at that and go vote. There may be someone on there that you may not recognize and you can talk to your churches or civic organizations about. Its a real good help," Hosemann said.
Today also marks the first general election where Mississippi voters will be required to show a government issued photo ID to vote.
Kay Broadbeck with the League of Women Voters says there are a number of pieces of ID voters can use.
"Drivers license. State employee id. Government identification. The voter registration photo id we have gotten specifically for that purpose. A student could use an ID from a university," Broadbeck said.
The most high profile race is the contest between incumbent Republican Senator Thad Cochran and his Democratic rival Travis Childers.
Long time political watcher Marty Wisemann says interest in the election appears to be deflated after a long and bruising Republican primary with tea party state senator Chris McDaniel that Cochran nearly lost
"I think if Chris McDaniel had been the one in the race you would be covering a donnybrook right now. But all of the intrigue has basically been voted and court challenged out of this race," Wisemann said.
Mississippians will also have the chance to decide whether or not to add a constitutional amendment protecting the right to hunt and fish.
