State constitution
Constitution of Mississippi
Data from MS Secretary of State
Full article structure with condensed section text. Provisions of the 1890 charter that were later repealed or held void by federal law (poll tax and literacy tests in Art. 12, the Art. 8 §207 segregated-schools clause, and the Art. 14 interracial-marriage ban) are flagged in place. Article 14's routine general provisions and Article 15's transitional Schedule (§§274-285) are summarized rather than listed section-by-section. Read the verbatim text at the source link.
Article 1 Distribution of Powers
§ 1 Division of powers
The powers of government are divided into legislative, judicial, and executive departments.
§ 2 Separation of departments
No person or collection of persons in one department shall exercise powers belonging to another, except as expressly permitted.
Article 2 Boundaries of the State
§ 3 State boundaries
Describes the geographical boundaries of the State of Mississippi.
§ 4 Additional territory; boundary disputes
The legislature may acquire additional territory and settle boundary disputes with adjoining states.
Article 3 Bill of Rights
§ 5 Political power in the people
All political power is vested in and derived from the people; all government of right originates with the people.
§ 6 Right to alter government
The people have the inherent right to regulate their internal government and to alter or abolish their constitution when they deem it necessary.
§ 7 Right of secession denied
The right to withdraw from the federal Union on any ground is not admitted.
§ 8 Citizenship
All persons who are citizens of the United States and residents of this state are declared citizens of the state.
§ 9 Military subordinate to civil power
The military is in strict subordination to the civil authority.
§ 10 Treason
Treason against the state consists only in levying war against it or adhering to its enemies; conviction requires two witnesses to the same overt act or confession in open court.
§ 11 Right of assembly and petition
The people have the right peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for redress of grievances.
§ 12 Right to bear arms
The right to keep and bear arms in defense of home, person, and property, and of the state, shall not be denied; the legislature may regulate concealed carry.
§ 13 Freedom of speech and press
The freedom of speech and of the press shall be held sacred; in libel prosecutions the truth may be given in evidence and the jury judges the law and the facts.
§ 14 Due process
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property except by due process of law.
§ 15 Slavery prohibited
There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime after conviction.
§ 16 Ex post facto laws; contract impairment
No ex post facto law, nor law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall be passed.
§ 17 Eminent domain; compensation
Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use except on due compensation first made to the owner.
§ 18 Religious freedom
The free enjoyment of religious opinion and worship is secured; no religious test is required for office, and the Bible is not excluded from the public schools.
§ 19 Dueling
Any person who fights a duel or sends or accepts a challenge is disqualified from holding office.
§ 20 No life or good-behavior office terms
No office shall be created with a tenure for life or during good behavior; terms of office are limited.
§ 21 Habeas corpus
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except in case of rebellion or invasion when the public safety requires it.
§ 22 Double jeopardy
No person shall be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense, unless the jury failed to agree or there was a mistrial as provided.
§ 23 Searches and seizures
The people are secure against unreasonable searches and seizures; warrants require probable cause supported by oath and particular description.
§ 24 Remedy for injuries
All courts shall be open, and every person shall have a remedy by due course of law for injury to lands, goods, person, or reputation, administered without denial or delay.
§ 25 Self-representation in civil cases
No person shall be debarred from prosecuting or defending a civil cause in person or by counsel, or both.
§ 26 Rights of the accused
In criminal prosecutions the accused has the right to counsel, to be informed of the accusation, to confront witnesses, to compulsory process, and to a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county.
§ 27 Indictment for felonies
No person shall be held to answer for a criminal charge unless on a grand jury indictment, except in cases specified.
§ 28 Cruel punishment; excessive fines
Cruel or unusual punishment shall not be inflicted, nor excessive fines imposed.
§ 29 Bail
Excessive bail shall not be required; all persons are bailable except for capital offenses or certain violent offenses where proof is evident.
§ 30 No imprisonment for debt
No person shall be imprisoned for debt.
§ 31 Right of jury trial
The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate; the legislature may allow civil verdicts by nine or more jurors.
§ 32 Unenumerated rights retained
The enumeration of rights in this constitution shall not be construed to deny or impair others retained by the people.
Article 4 Legislative Department
§ 33 Legislative power
The legislative power is vested in a legislature consisting of a senate and a house of representatives.
§ 34-46 Composition, elections, and qualifications of members
The house and senate are elected by district for four-year terms; each house judges the elections and qualifications of its members, elects officers, sets member qualifications (age and residence), and provides for oaths, disqualifications for defaulting on public money or for infamous crime, ineligibility for newly created offices, and compensation.
§ 47-55 Privileges, impeachment, and internal procedure
Members are privileged from arrest during sessions; the house has the power of impeachment (two-thirds) and the senate tries impeachments (chief justice presiding for a governor's trial); each house sets quorum and rules, may expel members, keeps a journal, and meets openly.
§ 56-73 Enactment of laws; appropriations; the veto
Prescribes the style of laws, bill-reading and passage requirements, one-subject and full-text amendment rules, appropriation-bill limits and durations, supermajority requirements for donations and revenue bills, and the governor's approval, partial (item) veto of appropriations, and veto-override procedures.
§ 74-86 Bill procedure and general legislative duties
Requires committee referral of bills, a delay before general laws take effect, and addresses legislative vacancies, salary deductions for neglect, tax-land sales and redemption, municipal taxing and borrowing powers, navigable-waters protection, official bonds, fire safety of public buildings, alien land restrictions, road working, and care of the indigent sick and persons with mental illness.
§ 87-100 Prohibited special and local legislation
Prohibits special or local laws where a general law can apply, requires general laws for local interests and corporate charters, bars enumerated subjects from special legislation, and forbids remitting obligations, granting extra compensation, reviving barred remedies, or authorizing lotteries.
§ 101-115 Miscellaneous legislative provisions
Fixes Jackson as the state capital, sets four-year election cycles and voter arrest privileges, provides for filling vacancies, exempts the state from limitations, requires a decennial census, and governs the state librarian, public procurement and contracts, officer-contract prohibitions, uniform and proportional taxation, and fiscal-year and financial-reporting requirements.
Article 5 Executive
§ 116-127 The Governor
The governor holds a four-year term (formerly limited to non-consecutive terms; now subject to a two-term limit by amendment), must meet age, citizenship, and residence qualifications, is commander-in-chief of the state's military, may require information from executive officers, convene the legislature, recommend measures, ensure the faithful execution of the laws, grant pardons and reprieves, suspend defaulting fiscal officers, keep the state seal, and issue commissions.
§ 128-132 Lieutenant Governor
The lieutenant governor is elected with qualifications like the governor's, presides over the senate with a casting vote, receives compensation equal to the house speaker, and succeeds to the governorship on vacancy or disability.
§ 133-143 Other executive and county officers; election of governor
Provides for the election, qualifications, and duties of the secretary of state, treasurer, and auditor and of county officers, requires published financial statements, and prescribes the electoral-vote method (by county) for electing the governor, with the house choosing among the leaders if no candidate wins a majority.
Article 6 Judiciary
§ 144-151 The Supreme Court
The judicial power is vested in a supreme court and such other courts as provided; the supreme court exercises appellate jurisdiction, sits at the seat of government, and its judges serve staggered terms and meet age, bar-membership, and citizenship qualifications, with vacancies filled as provided.
§ 152-166 Circuit and chancery courts
Divides the state into circuit and chancery court districts with elected judges of stated terms and qualifications; the circuit courts have general original and appellate jurisdiction, and the chancery courts have jurisdiction over equity, divorce and alimony, wills and estates, minors, and persons of unsound mind, with procedures for transferring causes between them.
§ 167-177 Peace officers, clerks, and inferior courts
Makes civil officers conservators of the peace, provides for the election of court clerks, prescribes the style of legal process, establishes boards of supervisors and justices of the peace and constables, authorizes inferior courts, provides for the attorney general and district attorneys, and allows removal of officers and temporary judicial appointments.
Article 7 Corporations
§ 178-183 Formation and taxation of corporations
Corporations are formed only under general laws subject to amendment; charters must be exercised in good faith within a set time; corporate property is taxed like individual property, and the taxing power may not be bargained away, with exemptions limited to five years and no municipal subscription to corporate stock.
§ 184-200 Railroads, common carriers, and anti-monopoly
Declares railroads public highways and common carriers subject to legislative regulation, requires depots near county seats, bars free passes to officials, protects employees and their civil rights, allows municipal aid to non-railroad enterprises, secures railroad-employee injury remedies, provides cumulative voting for directors, restricts stock and bond issuance, and directs the legislature to prohibit trusts and combinations in restraint of trade.
Article 8 Education
§ 201 Free public schools
The legislature shall provide for the establishment, maintenance, and support of free public schools for all children of the state (as amended).
§ 202 State superintendent of education
Provides for the state superintendent of public education and prescribes duties.
§ 203 Board of education
Establishes a state board of education to manage the common school fund and oversee the schools.
§ 204 County superintendent of education
Provides for the county superintendents of education.
§ 205 School term
Historically required a minimum common-school term in each district.
§ 206 Common school fund
Establishes the sources of the common school fund and its distribution based on the number of educable children.
§ 207 Separate schools (VOID)
Required racially segregated 'separate schools for the white and colored races' — void and unenforceable under Brown v. Board of Education, though the text remains unrepealed.
§ 208 No sectarian appropriations
No school funds shall be appropriated to any sectarian school.
§ 209 Institutions for the disabled
The legislature shall support institutions for persons who are deaf, mute, or blind.
§ 210 Officer conflicts in school supplies
Public officers are disqualified from interests in school-supply transactions.
§ 211 Sixteenth section lands
Governs the disposition and lease of sixteenth-section (school) lands.
§ 212 Chickasaw school fund
Sets the interest rate on the Chickasaw school fund.
§ 213 Agricultural and Mechanical College endowment
Preserves the endowment of the Agricultural and Mechanical College.
Article 9 Militia
§ 214-222 Organization of the militia
Defines militia liability, empowers the legislature to organize and support the militia, provides for the appointment and removal of officers, makes the governor commander-in-chief, provides for major and brigadier generals and the adjutant general, exempts militia members from arrest during musters, requires annual appropriations for the National Guard, and authorizes county support of militia companies.
Article 10 The Penitentiary and Prisons
§ 223 Convict leasing abolished
Prohibits the leasing of convicts to private parties after December 31, 1894.
§ 224 Convict labor on public works
Permits the employment of convicts on public roads and works under state supervision.
§ 225 State farm; reformatory
Authorizes a state prison farm and the establishment of a reformatory school.
§ 226 County convicts
Prohibits the leasing of county convicts after January 1, 1893.
Article 11 Levees
§ 227-233 Levee districts and boards
Continues the levee system and existing levee districts, establishes the levee boards for the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta and Mississippi levee districts, prescribes commissioner qualifications, bonds, and appointment, and authorizes the boards to supervise levee construction and maintenance and to take private property for levee purposes.
§ 234-239 Levee taxation and assessment
Grants the levee boards regional taxing and assessment powers over benefited property to fund the construction, maintenance, and improvement of levees, and provides related administrative procedures (regional and technical).
Article 12 Franchise
§ 240 Elections by ballot
All elections by the people shall be by ballot.
§ 241 Qualifications of electors
Prescribes voter qualifications (U.S. citizen, age 18 by amendment, residence and registration); it also permanently disenfranchises persons convicted of certain enumerated crimes, a provision that remains the subject of ongoing federal litigation.
§ 241-A [Repealed]
A former voter-qualification provision, repealed by amendment ratified in 1965.
§ 242 Registration of voters
The legislature shall provide by law for the registration of all persons entitled to vote and prescribe the registration oath.
§ 243 Poll tax [Repealed]
Formerly imposed a uniform poll tax as a condition of voting, dedicated to the common schools — repealed by amendment and void as a voting requirement under the 24th Amendment and federal law.
§ 244 Literacy/understanding test [Repealed]
Formerly required a would-be voter to read, or understand and interpret, a section of the constitution — a device used to disenfranchise Black voters; repealed and void under the Voting Rights Act.
§ 244-A [Repealed]
A former additional voter-qualification provision, since repealed.
§ 245 Elector residence and registration
Addresses the residence and registration conditions under which a person may vote.
§ 246 Voting only where registered
No person shall vote except in the district or precinct where registered.
§ 247 Elections free and equal
Elections shall be free and equal, and no power shall interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.
§ 248 Purity of elections
The legislature shall enact laws to secure the purity of elections and guard against abuses of the elective franchise.
§ 249 Registration before voting
No one shall vote at any election who has not been registered as required.
§ 250 Qualified electors eligible to office
All qualified electors, and no others, are eligible to office except as otherwise provided (as amended).
§ 251 Registration cutoff
Sets the cutoff period for registration before an election in which a person may vote.
§ 252 Election officers and returns
Provides for election officers and the making of election returns.
§ 253 Restoration of the franchise
Empowers the legislature, by a two-thirds vote of each house, to restore the right of suffrage to a person disqualified under this article.
Article 13 Apportionment
§ 254 Reapportionment
The legislature shall reapportion the senate and house districts after each federal decennial census; the senate shall consist of not more than 52 senators and the house of not more than 122 representatives.
§ 255-256 Apportionment standards (superseded)
Further original apportionment provisions of the 1890 charter, largely superseded by §254, later amendments, and the federal one-person-one-vote requirement; summarized here.
Article 14 General Provisions
§ 257-262 State institutions, seal, and continuity
Provides for the location and oversight of public and charitable institutions, the great seal, the continuation of existing writs, actions, bonds, and obligations, and related transitional matters.
§ 263 Interracial marriage ban (VOID)
Declared marriage between a white person and a person of Black or mixed ancestry 'unlawful and void' — void and unenforceable under Loving v. Virginia (1967), though the text remains unrepealed.
§ 264 Qualifications of jurors
Prescribes the qualifications of grand and petit jurors.
§ 265 Belief in a Supreme Being
States that no person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office — unenforceable under the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Torcaso v. Watkins (1961).
§ 266-268 Ministers; officer eligibility; oath of office
Addresses the eligibility of ministers and other persons to office and prescribes the oath of office for public officials.
§ 269-272-A Wills, homesteads, and other general provisions
Contains further general provisions (some repealed) concerning devises and bequests, homestead and property matters, and miscellaneous constitutional enforcement; summarized here (consult the source for the current section-by-section text).
Article 15 Amendments to the Constitution
§ 273 Amendment process
Amendments may be proposed in either house and, if agreed to by two-thirds of each house, are submitted to the voters and become part of the constitution if ratified by a majority of those voting; provides the general procedure for amending and revising the constitution (a former citizen-initiative amendment process was held invalid by the state supreme court in 2021).
§ 274-285 Schedule (transitional)
The Schedule adopted with the 1890 Constitution — providing its effective date, continuing prior valid laws and contracts, continuing incumbent officers, arranging the transition to the new government, and repealing the prior constitution. Largely spent once the transition was complete.
Full, verbatim text at MS Secretary of State