[03/15/01] Warren County Circuit Clerk Larry Ashley said he has been surprised by the slow pace of voter registration for the state vote on whether to change flags.

Residents who have never voted in Warren County or have moved here since the last election have until 5 p.m. Friday to register with the Circuit Clerk’s Office. The statewide vote on the fate of Mississippi’s 107-year-old banner will be April 17.

“From what I’ve seen in the last month, I feel like it’s going to be a light turnout,” Ashley said. State laws say poll books close to new registrants 30 days before an election.

Voting has already begun for people who qualify to cast absentee ballots. Mailed absentee ballots must be received by the clerk’s office by April 16, or voters can cast absentee ballots at the courthouse until April 13.

“We’ve had the ballots now for about two weeks and we’ve been mailing them out,” Ashley said.

Since absentee voting began, about 150 ballots have been returned to the clerk’s office. Usually an indication of how many people will vote on election day, Ashley said that the low number suggests that there will be a low turnout on election day.

The issue has dominated television and newspaper reports but doesn’t seem to be arousing voters. “I expected a lot more,” Ashley said.

Mississippi voters are being asked to choose between the 1894 flag that contains the Confederate Battle Flag in its upper left corner and a design suggested by the commission chaired by former Gov. William Winter. The new banner has a constellation of 20 stars in the upper left replacing the battle flag.

Supporters, including the Sons of Confederate Veterans, defend the old flag as representative of the state’s heritage, while many religious groups and business organizations have come out favoring adoption of the new design.

During the last statewide election, 18,371 ballots were cast in Warren County in the presidential race on Nov. 7. Poll books list 31,370 people as eligible county voters.

City voters will return to the polls two weeks later on May 1 for municipal primary elections. If a run-off is needed, it will be May 15, and the general election in city races will be June 5.