“I believe in the institution of Election Day, and I have said that from the beginning," Reeves told reporters Dec. 14 at the Capitol, adding that he opposes expansion of mail-in voting. Many states allow people to cast a ballot days or weeks in advance, at their convenience. That list includes Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia. Efforts to enact early voting in Mississippi have hit a wall, so far. With Reeves staking out his preference for the tradition of Election Day, singular, rather than Election Days, plural, any change would have to be made by a veto-proof margin with more than two-thirds support in the state House and Senate. Republicans control both chambers. For enough of them to go against the governor's wishes, they would need strong support from people back home. Republican lawmakers also would have to be convinced that early voting would help Republicans at least as much, if not more, than it would help Democrats. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Mississippi is one of the 16 states that require people to have an excuse to cast an absentee ballot. In Mississippi, being out of town on Election Day because of work or school is an acceptable excuse. Wanting to avoid standing in line near other people during a pandemic is not.