Mississippi voters overwhelmingly approved a measure to keep the Confederate flag in a prominent place on the state banner. It rejected a design that would have removed an emblem widely seen as a symbol of slavery and racism.
With 67 per cent of precincts reporting, 65 per cent voted to retain the old flag that supporters revere as a symbol of southern heritage. Thirty-five per cent voted for the new design.
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Mississippi's population is about 61 per cent white and 36 per cent black. There was no racial breakdown of the vote but predominantly black counties voted heavily for the new design while mostly white precincts went overwhelmingly - by as much as 90 per cent in some cases - for the old.
Governor Ronnie Musgrove, a Democrat who had supported the new flag, said in a written statement: "It is important that we accept the majority vote and move forward . . . We must lay aside our differences."
The referendum had been called to determine whether Mississippi would remain the last state to prominently display the Confederate battle emblem on its official flag. In recent years Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia have either dropped or downgraded their use of the symbol.
It was the first time voters anywhere had a chance to decide the flag issue. Despite the emotions involved both sides agreed the campaign had been orderly and civil.
Mississippi could now face the kind of economic boycott from blacks and others that forced South Carolina last year to move a Confederate flag that had flown over the state Capitol to a less prominent location.