2001 Mississippi flag referendum

April 17, 2001 (2001-04-17)

Candidate Proposition A Proposition B Popular vote 494,323 273,359 Percentage 64.39% 35.61%

County results Proposition A   >90%   80%–90%   70%–80%   60%–70%   50%–60% Proposition B   80%–90%   70%–80%   60%–70%   50%–60% Tie   50%

The2001 Mississippi flag referendum was alegislatively referred state statute in the U.S. state, 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 theFlag of Mississippi. Proposition A would keep the then current flag, which featured theConfederate 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 untilits replacement in 2021.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

• "The pro-Proposition B economic argument didn't work because they could never name a single business that left the state of Mississippi or didn't come here because of the flag. And the racism argument didn't work because all these white liberals were lumping all black people together as helpless victims, and that didn't go over too well with anyone."^[1]

• Sons of Confederate Veterans
• United Daughters of the Confederacy
• Freemississippi.org

• Pro-Proposition B forces issued an advertisement reading, “It's not right that our kids can't find good jobs close to home because companies won't locate in our state, but it's a fact. They have the wrong idea about Mississippi. A state flag that includes the Confederate flag just adds to those false opinions.”

• GovernorRonnie Musgrove
• FormerGovernorWilliam Winter
• Morgan Freeman
• Mississippi Economic Council
• Mississippi National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)^[1]

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 theoriginal 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)	494,323	64.39
Proposition B (alternative flag)	273,359	35.61
Total	767,682	100.00
Source: Mississippi Secretary of State[7]

^[7]

• 2020 Mississippi flag referendum
• Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials

• Flag controversies in the United States
• April 2001 in the United States
• Flag referendums
• 2001 Mississippi elections
• 2001 ballot measures in the United States
• Mississippi ballot measures

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