Registration · Precincts · Election Day
Where do I vote?
For a city election, the answer is simple: the Expo Center, every voter. For county and state elections it depends on your address — and that catches people every time.
Read this first
City elections: one building, every voter.
This is the single most important thing on the page.
For a city election — mayor and aldermen — every Columbia voter votes at the Expo Center. One location for the whole city. No wondering which church hall or which side of the road you're on.
The city consolidated its municipal voting to a single site, and it worked: fewer polling places to staff, less cost, and nobody turned away for showing up at the building they voted in last time.
County, state and federal elections are different. Those are run by the county, and your polling place depends on your address — sometimes down to which side of a street you live on. Voting in a city election at the Expo Center tells you nothing about where you vote in a county election.
So: city election → Expo Center. Anything else → confirm first. Call the Marion County Election Commission on (601) 736-8246, or City Hall on 601.736.8201.
How to register
Registering to vote in Marion County.
You register once, with the county, and it covers you for city, county, state and federal elections.
Where — the Circuit Clerk's office at the Marion County courthouse keeps the voter roll. The Election Commission on (601) 736-8246 handles precincts and polling places.
You will need — proof of identity and residence, and a Mississippi address inside the county.
Mississippi also has online and mail registration through the Secretary of State — sos.ms.gov — and forms are available at the courthouse, the library, and City Hall.
Deadlines matter. Mississippi closes registration a set number of days before each election. If an election is coming, register now rather than the week before.
Absentee voting — through the Circuit Clerk. Rules differ for in-person absentee and mail absentee, and the deadlines are earlier than people expect. Call (601) 736-8246 and ask.
⏳ Coming to this page
County precincts — the part that still catches people.
City elections are settled: the Expo Center, every voter. County, state and federal elections are the ones worth checking.
Those precincts follow address boundaries that do not line up with city wards. A city ward and a county supervisor district can split the same street, so two neighbors across the road from each other can vote in two different buildings on the same day.
⏳ A full precinct list with polling locations is reserved for this page and will be published as soon as the county provides it.
One location we can name: Owens Chapel Baptist Church, 1223 Martin Luther King Drive, serves as the alternate polling place where Ward 3 and Supervisor District 5 split. If that is your area, confirm with the Election Commission before election day rather than assuming — this is one precinct out of many, not the whole map.
For everything else, one phone call settles it:
- County, state and federal elections — Marion County Election Commission, (601) 736-8246
- City elections — City Hall, 601.736.8201 (but the answer is the Expo Center)
We would rather send you to a person who knows than print a precinct list that might send you to the wrong building on the one morning it matters.
What you're voting for
Who is actually on your ballot.
City — the Mayor, your ward alderman, and the alderman at large. Every Columbia resident votes for two aldermen: their ward's and the at-large seat. Find yours.
County — your supervisor (five districts), plus the Sheriff, Chancery Clerk, Circuit Clerk, Tax Assessor/Collector, Coroner, Constables and the Election Commission.
State — your State Senator (District 41) and State Representative (District 100), plus statewide offices.
Federal — your U.S. Representative (Mississippi's 3rd district) and both U.S. Senators.
⚠️ Your city ward, your county supervisor district, and your voting precinct are three different boundaries. They do not line up, and knowing one does not tell you the others. All of them are on Who Represents Me.
City election administration
Who runs a city election.
Janette Nolan is contracted by the City of Columbia to run city elections. Although she also serves as a county officer, this municipal-election work is performed under a city contract. The City Clerk remains ultimately responsible for the city's elections.
Election Commission
When in doubt, call before you drive.
Two numbers cover every question on this page: (601) 736-8246 for county and state elections, and 601.736.8201 for city elections. Both are quicker than any website.