Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver now has a one-vote lead over his Republican challenger, Jason Camp, after party executives accepted two previously rejected affidavit ballots Thursday.
Camp emerged with a one-vote lead Tuesday, and officials rejected three affidavit ballots Wednesday — including two from eligible voters deemed “inactive,” whose forms were also not correctly signed by poll workers.
Those two ballots were the focal point of Thursday’s closed-door Oktibbeha County Republican Party Executive Committee meeting. Committee members did not notify local media before Thursday’s meeting and unlocked the doors at City Hall only to announce their decision to accept the affidavits, both of which went for Carver and gave the incumbent a 105-104 lead in the race.
The city is expected to certify the Democratic and Republican primaries Tuesday.
Oktibbeha County Republican Party Executive Committee member Jack Forbus said the group based its decision on a Mississippi Supreme Court case allowing executive committees to reverse decisions about the validity of affidavits. Another Mississippi Attorney General’s opinion, he said, made it clear the information located on the back of an affidavit’s sealed envelope — where poll workers are supposed to sign and date the document — “is not pertinent.”
“(Case law) says a municipal election committee can change its mind. We did,” Forbus said. “The back of the envelope is not pertinent; the front is. Based on that, it was time to make a decision.”
Carver thanked God for his election victory and Camp for running a fair and honest race.
“This is something that has really tested my faith,” he said. “Both ballots were rejected due to error, and they should have not been rejected. I questioned that and sought legal counsel.”
Camp, who previously served on the local GOP’s executive committee but resigned his role before his Ward 1 bid, did not rule out legally challenging the group’s decision before Tuesday’s expected certification.
“I’m going to look at all of my options. The most important thing is we elect an alderman in Ward 1 that’s going to be actually doing their job, being present for votes and making sure they have the best interest of Ward 1 in their hearts,” he said. “We got to this situation because of procedural errors and voter errors — things that have not been done right over the last six months that people have not been looking at. Until we start looking at them, we’re going to have this situation continue.”
If the vote survives a potential legal challenge and is certified, Carver will face Democrat Christine Williams in June’s general election.
The affidavits
The two affidavits in question Thursday came from residents who previously moved, but whose names were not listed in the Ward 1 poll book.
The first affidavit, provided by a female Ward 1 resident, claims she recently moved within the ward, from the Avenue of Patriots to Spruce Lane. The second, provided by a male resident, was marked indicating his move from the outside of Starkville’s municipal boundaries to his Persimmon Drive home was completed more than 30 days ago.
Camp said discussions about the male resident’s affidavit revealed the voter cast his ballot and then called the circuit clerk’s office to adjust his residency’s listing.
Oktibbeha County Elections Deputy Clerk Cheryl Elmore, who was present at Thursday’s GOP meeting, confirmed the resident did contact her office on Election Day about his residency.
Conflicting AG’s opinions on the validity of ballots cast by those who moved from the county to the city but failed to register within 30 days of an election were presented during the meeting. A 2001 opinion would have allowed the vote to be rejected, while a 2003 opinion states such a voter would be entitled to participate in the election via an affidavit.
Carver’s attorney, William Starks, confirmed the discussions on the ballot’s legitimacy and said the GOP’s resolution committee — while weighing both opinions, another 1987 opinion and “the general premise set forth in (prior case law) … that the voting statutes should be construed liberally in favor of the voter’s vote counting in the event of technical irregularities” — voted 3-0 to accept the affidavits.
“It’s easy to point the finger at election officials, but at some point it’s upon the voter to register where they should be registered. Until we get these issues straightened out, we’re never going to have the elections we should,” Camp said. “Every voter needs to make sure they’re doing their homework.”
Camp also questioned other procedural issues associated with the affidavits brought to light during discussions, the lack of a public announcement for the meeting and the committee’s apparent desire to make a decision Thursday without seeking further clarification from state-level sources.
“When I asked questions, nobody looked at the law. That has continued on this whole time. We got in there, and they settled the issue,” he said. “Why did we not stop? Why did we not attempt to get clarification? That blows my mind. There are a lot of questions to be asked.”
The meeting
The Dispatch learned of the meeting, which started about 3 or 4 p.m., when both a city employee and Camp contacted a reporter after 5:30 p.m.
Carver posted about the upcoming gathering on Facebook shortly before it began, while Camp said he was given about a two-hour notice to arrive at City Hall for the procedure.
Neither city officials, nor Oktibbeha County GOP Chairwoman Marnita Henderson, could determine if the party or the city was required to publicly notice the meeting or which group should have the responsibility of providing such notice.
After the meeting, Forbus said the party didn’t have to notify the newspaper of the meeting and it would have eventually found out the results.
City Clerk Lesa Hardin said the doors to City Hall were originally unlocked when Starkville Municipal Court Administrator Tony Rook opened the courtroom for the proceeding, and Oktibbeha County GOP Chairwoman Marnita Henderson, who was out of state at the time, said nobody from the Republican Party would or could have locked City Hall during the gathering.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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