The Associated Press
SOUTHAVEN – Some NeMiss voters are confused by the two upcoming elections for the 1st District congressional seat.
People go to the polls April 1 for the Democratic and Republican primary runoffs to set the ballot for the November general election. The winner in November will serve a two-year term in Washington, starting in January.
On April 22, there is a nonpartisan special election in the 1st District to fill the final few months of a U.S. House term that Republican Roger Wicker started in early 2007. Wicker left the House seat in December after Gov. Haley Barbour appointed him to fill a Senate seat left vacant by the early retirement of Republican Trent Lott.
Absentee voting is under way now for both the April 1 runoffs and the April 22 special election.
Mississippi does not allow early voting as some states do, but it has absentee voting for students, active duty military service members, the elderly, disabled and for anyone who knows that he or she will be out of the county on election day.
“We’ve had some people who have come in to vote absentee in the runoff and we ask them which election they want to vote in. Some are puzzled that we have two elections going on at the same time,” said DeSoto County Circuit Court Clerk Dale Kelly Thompson.
In Monroe County, Circuit Clerk Judy Butler said Wednesday that many voters don’t understand there are overlapping elections for the congressional seat. Adding to the mix in Monroe County, Aberdeen has its regularly scheduled municipal elections going on now — and some voters will have to drive to one precinct for the municipal elections and another for the congressional election.
“We have major confusion here,” Butler said.
Tuesday’s congressional runoffs are follow-ups to the March 11 primary elections. None of the Republican or Democratic candidates received a majority in the primaries, forcing runoffs for both parties.
The Republican Party primary runoff pits former Tupelo mayor Glenn McCullough Jr. against Southaven Mayor Greg Davis. The runoff in the Democratic Party primary is between Travis Childers, the chancery clerk for Prentiss County, and state Rep. Steve Holland of Plantersville.
Independent Wally Pang of Batesville and Green Party candidate John M. Wages Jr. of Tupelo will be on the ballot in November.
The special election April 22 will include McCullough, Davis, Childers, Holland, Pang and Wages.
If no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the special election, another runoff election would be held May 13 to decide that contest. Party affiliations are not listed on the special election ballot.
Some information from: The Commercial Appeal, commercialappeal.com.
Filed under: Djournal.com
