Allowing Mississippi voters to decide on a constitutional amendment regarding school funding first requires collection of signatures on petitions, indicating the desire of Mississippians to have the chance to vote on this issue. More than 100,000 signatures are required to get the initiative on the ballot. If 20 people in every each school district were to collect just 50 signatures each, that would yield 1,000 signatures per district, surpassing the total requirement. To volunteer, send a quick email to Julie at jwinckler@msparentscampaign.org and she will help you get started.
In collecting signatures, the most important things to note are
- Only registered voters should sign the petition and only one time
- Signatures must be legible and include middle initial
- Use separate petitions for separate counties (the clerk will verify voter names by county)
- Voters must sign with BLACK ink only
Seventeen years ago lawmakers promised adequate funding for K-12 education, but they have not kept that promise. The ballot initiative proposes a conservative, responsible approach to bringing funding levels up, without raising taxes. Read the language of the proposed amendment here.