The Commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag selected five flags to move to the final round this week.
The five designs and a new nonbinding public poll have been placed on the MDAH website at www.mdah.ms.gov/flagpoll-top5.
The five designs will be manufactured into flags, and at the August 25 meeting, commissioners will meet in front of the Old Capitol Museum where each flag will be raised on the flag pole.
The commission will choose the final design during their September 2 meeting and report that selection to the governor and legislature.
In June the Mississippi Legislature, on a vote of 92-23 in the house and a 37-14 vote in the senate, passed House Bill 1796 that is changing the design of the Mississippi State Flag.
Opponents of changing the flag pointed to the 2001 election and wanted another referendum put before voters.
And as the political whirlwind dies down the state is creating a new design that will be put before voters in the November election.
The bill that was passed mandated the removal of Mississippi’s old state flag from all public building within 15 days, formation of a commission to redesign the flag and the inclusion of the words “In God We Trust,” somewhere on the new flag.
The commission that is redesigning the new flag is composed of nine people, three of whom will be appointed by Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann, three by House Speaker Philip Gunn and three appointed by Governor Tate Reeves.
The commission has sought public input and adopted its policy on how the new design will be acquired. The commission will present to the governor and lawmakers their chosen design by mid-September.
The Flag Commission will present their design for a vote during the November presidential election.
If voters support the flag, it will be adopted by lawmakers. And if voters oppose it, the commission must come up with a new design and once again put it up for a statewide vote.
