Voter registration cards were mailed last month to a select number of Lowndes County voters, notifying them of changes they will experience as a result of countywide redistricting.
Circuit Clerk Haley Salazar said her office mailed cards to 6,000 of Lowndes County’s 38,758 voters at the beginning of August notifying them of the changes, which could include voting at a new location or having different elected officials.
“A lot of people got these new cards and they just put them in their wallets and didn’t read them,” Salazar said Monday. “If they got a voter registration card in the mail, they need to read it. It’s important. We don’t want confusion on Election Day.”
She cited voters who cast their ballots at Lee Middle School as a prime example. The school will not be used as a poll site this year; instead, voters will go to First Assembly of God on Military Road.
Residents who have never registered to vote must do so by Oct. 6. Registered voters who need to update their names, addresses or other information must do so at least a week before the election.
Forms are available at the Lowndes County Circuit Clerk’s Office, on the second floor of the Lowndes County Courthouse, or online at sos.ms.gov. Because a signature is required, online forms must be printed out and mailed or faxed to the Circuit Clerk’s office.
Salazar said problems can arise when residents change addresses and fail to update their information, even if their district doesn’t change. If a jury summons is sent to the previous address and returned twice, the voter will be flagged inactive.
She said voters are not likely to be required to show photo identification for the November election, even though House Bill 921 — also known as the Voter ID law — was signed by Gov. Phil Bryant in May.
For election and voting questions, please call the Lowndes County Circuit Clerk’s office at 662-329-5900.
Local races
Seven local seats — election commissioners in each district and two county school board positions — will be on the Nov. 6 ballot.
District 1 Election Commissioner Lena Mae Duncan and District 3 Election Commissioner Betty Crane will not run for re-election.
Republicans Larry Chappell and Clyde McElrath will face one another in District 1, while District 2 Election Commissioner Jean N. Bigelow will fight to retain her seat against Republican challenger Leon M. Speck Jr.
In District 3, Peggy Whitten Barksdale and Sandra Pennington Elliott, both Republicans, will be on the ballot.
District 4 Election Commissioner Sherry Ann Guyton, a Democrat, is being challenged by Ina W. Walters, an Independent.
Democrat incumbent Frances Olivia Stewart has no challenger and will remain election commissioner for District 5.
Two Lowndes County School District school board positions are also up for grabs, as District 3’s Robert Barksdale and District 4’s Michael Gibson try to retain their positions.
Barksdale will run against John A. Hall, and Gibson will face Wesley Barrett.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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