Absentee voting ends Saturday for those wishing to cast ballots before the general election Nov. 6.

The Warren County Circuit Clerk’s Office on the second floor of the courthouse will open from 8 a.m. to noon to process absentees, as will offices in Issaquena, Sharkey and Claiborne counties.

People may choose to vote in person in advance of election day or by mail, but all advance ballots must be received by the deadline.

More have registered to vote in this year’s general balloting than in the run-up to the 2003 election, according to tabulations by Warren County officials.

When registration ended Oct. 6, rolls showed 35,456 names. Four years ago at this time, 33,207 had registered. In both instances, registration numbers fell slightly between the primaries and the general election.

Voter turnout may be highest for individual district races, such as county supervisor seats. Countywide, races for state senate and district attorney figure to command the most attention.

In this year’s primaries in Warren County, 9,314 ballots were cast, or 26.2 percent of the 35,550 who registered for the preliminaries. In 2003 general voting, most votes were cast for governor, with 15,922 total votes distributed among five candidates. In the five county supervisor races, 15,652 combined votes were cast.

Though Gov. Haley Barbour has garnered endorsements across the political spectrum and is expected to win, his race against Democratic challenger John Arthur Eaves Jr. may still draw the most overall votes.

Top races appearing on the Nov. 6 ballot include:

* Lieutenant Governor, Republican Phil Bryant versus Democrat Jamie Franks.

* Secretary of State, Republican Delbert Hosemann versus Democrat Robert Smith.

* Attorney General, Democratic incumbent Jim Hood versus Republican Al Hopkins.

* State Auditor, Republican Stacey E. Pickering versus Democrat Mike Sumrall.

* State Treasurer, Republican incumbent Tate Reeves versus Democrat Shawn O’Hara.

* Commissioner of Insurance, Republican Mike Chaney versus Democrat Gary Anderson.

* Central District Public Service Commissioner, Republican Charles Barbour versus Democrat Lynn Posey and Reform Party candidate Lee Dilworth.

* Central District Transportation Commissioner, Republican incumbent Dick Hall versus Democrat Rudy Warnock.

* Commissioner of Agriculture, Republican incumbent Lester Spell versus Democrat Rickey L. Cole and Constitution Party candidate Paul Leslie Riley.

Circuit Court District 9 District Attorney Gil Martin, an independent, faces Democrat Ricky Smith. District 9 covers Warren, Issaquena and Sharkey counties.

Both House seats and the state Senate post representing all of Warren County are up for voters to decide Nov. 6.

In House District 55, Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, will vie for a sixth term against Republican challenger Rick McAlister. It covers central and north Vicksburg. In House District 54, Republican Alex Monsour faces Democrat Jennifer Thomas and independent Thomas Setser.

In Senate District 23, Republican Briggs Hopson III faces Democrat Eric Rawlings.

County level races include:

* District 1 Supervisor, where Republican incumbent David McDonald faces independents Margaret Gilmer and Tony Ford.

* District 2 Supervisor, where Democratic incumbent William Banks faces independent Tommie Rawlings.

* District 4 Supervisor, where incumbent Carl Flanders faces fellow independent Bill Lauderdale and Republican C.L. “Buddy” Hardy.

* District 5 Supervisor, where incumbent Richard George faces Republican Joe Wooley, Democrat Frank Gardner and fellow independents Robert Hubbard and Kenneth Sharp Jr.

* Central District Constable, where Democrat Randy Naylor faces Republican James E. Jefferson.

* Northern District Constable, where Democratic incumbent Glenn McKay faces independent Eddie Hoover.

* Tax Assessor, where Democratic incumbent Richard Holland faces independent Pat Ring.