2001 Mississippi flag referendum explained

Election Name:2001 Mississippi flag referendum
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Candidate1:Proposition A
Popular Vote1:494,323
Percentage1:64.39%
Candidate2:Proposition B
Popular Vote2:273,359
Percentage2:35.61%

2001 Mississippi flag referendum should not be confused with 2020 Mississippi flag referendum.

The 2001 Mississippi flag referendum was a legislatively referred state statute appearing on an April 17, 2001 special election ballot, an election held specifically for this referendum.[1]

Voters were asked to choose between two propositions relating to the Flag of Mississippi. Proposition A would keep the then current flag, which featured the Confederate battle flag in the canton. Proposition B would have slightly altered the flag by replacing the rebel battle flag canton with another completely brand new and different canton of a blue square featuring 20 white stars, arranged in a circle row, representing Mississippi as the 20th state in the union. Voters chose proposition A, which maintained the then current flag until its replacement in 2021.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Proposition A

Arguments

Supporters

Proposition B

Arguments

Supporters

Result

Voters voted to maintain the current flag, keeping the following law:

§ 3-3-16. Design of state flag. The official flag of the State of Mississippi shall have the following design: with width two-thirds (2/3) of its length; with the union (canton) to be square, in width two-thirds (2/3) of the width of the flag; the ground of the union to be red and a broad blue saltire thereon, bordered with white and emblazoned with thirteen (13) mullets or five-pointed stars, corresponding with the number of the original States of the Union; the field to be divided into three (3) bars of equal width, the upper one blue, the center one white, and the lower one, extending the whole length of the flag, red (the national colors); this being the flag adopted by the Mississippi Legislature in the 1894 Special Session.

Option Votes
Num. %
Proposition A (status quo)494,32364.39
Proposition B (alternative flag)273,35935.61
Total767,682100.00
Source: Mississippi Secretary of State[7]

Results by county

CountyProposition AProp. A%Proposition BProp. B%
Adams5,08247.45%5,62852.55%
Alcorn7,65283.99%1,45916.02%
Amite3,27965.41%1,73434.59%
Attala3,94366.85%1,95533.15%
Benton1,89973.78%67526.22%
Bolivar3,64741.08%5,32158.92%
Calhoun3,70378.04%1,04221.96%
Carroll2,89373.28%1,05526.72%
Chickasaw4,01464.23%2,23535.77%
Choctaw2,38374.54%81425.46%
Claiborne71921.17%2,67878.83%
Clarke3,76564.89%2,03735.11%
Clay3,31049.83%3,33250.17%
Coahoma2,61449.23%2,80651.77%
Copiah5,16858.56%3,65741.44%
Covington4,44172.64%1,67327.36%
DeSoto18,71284.90%3,32715.10%
Forrest11,20963.18%6,53336.82%
Franklin2,51471.83%98628.17%
George5,54489.75%63310.25%
Greene3,43785.90%56414.10%
Grenada4,05859.11%2,80740.89%
Hancock10,10085.05%1,77514.95%
Harrison28,59068.56%13,10931.44%
Hinds23,68636.00%42,11364.00%
Holmes1,66432.37%3,47767.63%
Humphreys1,48446.51%1,70753.49%
Issaquena34953.28%30646.72%
Itawamba6,37288.94%79211.06%
Jackson24,69773.37%8,96226.63%
Jasper3,62857.66%2,66442.34%
Jefferson46817.34%2,23182.66%
Jefferson Davis2,50453.97%2,13646.03%
Jones16,39276.45%5,04923.55%
Kemper1,73348.82%1,81751.18%
Lafayette5,03753.95%4,29946.05%
Lamar10,19480.07%2,53719.93%
Lauderdale11,54264.27%6,41835.73%
Lawrence3,93672.65%1,48227.35%
Leake4,07368.59%1,86531.41%
Lee12,47265.16%6,77034.84%
Leflore3,13545.90%3,69554.10%
Lincoln8,33174.38%2,87025.62%
Lowndes7,57255.83%5,99044.17%
Madison10,80948.54%11,45951.46%
Marion6,81474.79%2,29725.21%
Marshall4,39258.90%3,06541.10%
Monroe7,99969.56%3,50030.44%
Montgomery2,37559.75%1,60040.25%
Neshoba5,63576.91%1,69223.09%
Newton4,65673.06%1,71726.94%
Noxubee1,27337.80%2,09562.20%
Oktibbeha4,53744.55%5,64855.45%
Panola5,41063.73%3,07936.27%
Pearl River11,62385.72%1,93614.28%
Perry3,40183.75%66016.25%
Pike6,04956.76%4,60943.24%
Pontotoc6,65283.27%1,33616.73%
Prentiss6,45186.67%99213.33%
Quitman1,19054.86%97945.14%
Rankin25,31174.62%8,60925.38%
Scott5,12365.80%2,66334.20%
Sharkey87151.42%82348.58%
Simpson6,43273.33%2,33926.67%
Smith5,31884.94%94315.06%
Stone3,80880.24%93819.76%
Sunflower2,91145.38%3,50454.62%
Tallahatchie2,50357.57%1,84542.43%
Tate4,62275.70%1,48424.30%
Tippah6,06786.75%91813.13%
Tishomingo5,10190.80%5179.20%
Tunica63646.15%74253.85%
Union6,53583.71%1,27216.29%
Walthall3,16971.23%1,28028.77%
Warren8,58261.44%5,38538.56%
Washington5,60748.95%5,84751.05%
Wayne4,58671.20%1,85528.80%
Webster3,27181.19%75818.81%
Wilkinson1,22643.08%1,62056.92%
Winston4,31062.44%2,59337.56%
Yalobusha2,75365.27%1,46534.73%
Yazoo4,37050.00%4,37050.00%
[7]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mississippi Flag Referendum (April 2001). 2020-07-04. Ballotpedia. en.
  2. News: Firestone. David. 2001-04-18. Mississippi Votes by Wide Margin to Keep State Flag That Includes Confederate Emblem. en-US. The New York Times. 2020-07-04. 0362-4331.
  3. Web site: CNN.com - Mississippi votes 2-1 to keep existing flag - April 17, 2001. 2020-07-04. www.cnn.com.
  4. Web site: Ladd. Donna. How Mississippians Voted in 2001 on the State Flag: The Numbers. 2020-07-04. jacksonfreepress.com. en.
  5. Web site: Jeffrey. Gettleman. 2001-04-18. Mississippi Votes to Keep Confederate Battle Cross on State's Flag. 2020-07-04. Los Angeles Times. en-US.
  6. News: Duggan. Paul. 2001-04-18. Mississippi Keeps Its State Flag. en-US. Washington Post. 2020-07-04. 0190-8286.
  7. https://web.archive.org/web/20041220235959/http://www.sos.state.ms.us/ed_pubs/BlueBook/2000-2004_bluebook.pdf MISSISSIPPI OFFICIAL AND STATISTICAL REGISTER 2000-2004