As Mayor Laurence Leyens exited the American Legion Post 3 precinct after casting his ballot, another voter on his way to the polls asked the mayor how he was doing this morning.

“Right now I’m doing good,” Leyens told the man, “but ask me again in another 13 hours.”

Leyens was one of a dozen voters at the Monroe Street precinct who lined up before the polls opened at 7 this morning. Early voting across the city was varied, with some precincts bustling and others idling through the morning hours.

“They’re all coming out today,” said Ronald Queen, an election official at the America Legion who kept busy by opening doors and greeting the roughly 30 voters who turned out during the first 10 minutes the polls were open. “Today’s the big day.”

Leyens, the independent two-term incumbent, and his Democratic challenger, Paul Winfield, are in the lone contest on the ballot today in Vicksburg. North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield appears on the ballot without an opponent for a second term and South Ward Alderman Sid Beauman appears on the ballot without an opponent for a third term.

Polls will be open at 11 precincts in the city until 7 p.m. The forecast calls for sunshine all day, and just a 20 percent chance of a stray shower moving through this afternoon or early evening.

At the Kings Empowerment Center north of the city, precinct manager Lisa Kemp estimated just 10 ballots were cast in the first hour polls were open.

“It’s very slow this morning, which is unusual,” she said. “I was expecting a bigger turnout, but that hasn’t been the case so far. Maybe it will pick up this afternoon. Everything is in place and running smoothly, we just need the voters.”

Managers at the St. Aloysius, Vicksburg Junior High School and Elks Lodge precincts also reported early voting was slower than anticipated. Steady voting was reported at the Cedar Grove, Carpenters Union Hall, Porters Chapel Methodist Church and Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Hall precincts, with short lines at several precincts before polls opened.

Abraham Green, bailiff at the City Auditorium precinct since 2004, said early voting was the busiest he’s ever seen, excluding the 2008 presidential election — in which long lines were seen at nearly every precinct and 58.4 percent of voters in the county cast a ballot.

“I think it will be one of our better turnouts,” said No. 7 Fire Station Poll Manager Sue Campbell, who predicted turnout at her precinct could reach as high as 70 percent.

The importance of voter turnout today is perhaps the lone issue on which Leyens and Winfield completely agree. Both said getting their voters to go to the polls will be the deciding factor in who takes office as mayor on July 6. The May 5 Democratic primary produced the lowest turnout in recent history, with just 3,165 votes cast — or 16.8 percent of the 18,480 names on voter rolls.

“From my observation, turnout has been much better than last month for the primary, which is a good sign,” said Winfield as he cast his ballot at the City Auditorium around 8 a.m. “I’m very excited and very anxious.”

Winfield bested Gertrude Young, John Shorter and Tommy Wright in the primary, garnering 1,915 votes — or 61.6 percent, enough to avoid a primary runoff.

About 39 percent of the people listed on poll books in the city cast a ballot in the 2005 general election, in which Leyens won his first bid for re-election by taking 3,959 — or 55 percent — of the 7,166 total votes. Democratic challenger and Warren County District 3 Supervisor Charles Selmon received 2,779 votes.

Leyens, 45, was elected in 2001 in his first bid for public office, beating two-time Mayor Robert Walker. About 1,000 fewer votes were cast in 2001 compared to 2005, and about 2,500 fewer than during a record high turnout year in 1993. 

“This is an exceptional moment in Vicksburg history, and I hope we have a great turnout today,” Leyens said.

This is Winfield’s first run at an elected position, but the 35-year-old is not exactly a stranger to politics. He majored in political science at Ole Miss, is treasurer for the state Democratic party and was a delegate for President Barack Obama at the national convention last year. A practicing attorney, Winfield represented the Warren County Board of Supervisors from 2005 until 2008 and is serving his fifth term as city attorney in Port Gibson.

No Republicans filed in the mayoral race. Both North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield and South Ward Alderman Sid Beauman are unopposed in the election and will continue serving in their second and third terms, respectively. The annual salary for the mayor is $81,033.68 and for aldermen, $64,827.10.

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Polling locations

• Auditorium — Vicksburg City Auditorium, 901 Monroe St.

• Cedar Grove — Rolling Acres Community Center, 131 Elizabeth Circle

• St. Aloysius — St. Aloysius School gym, 1900 Grove St.

• American Legion — American Legion Post 3, 1712 Monroe St.

• Vicksburg Junior High School — Warren Central Junior High School, 1630 Baldwin Ferry Road

• No. 7 fire station — No. 7 fire station, 3217 Washington St.

• Elks Lodge — Elks Lodge No. 95 BPOE, 1366 U.S. 61 South

• Plumbers/Pipefitters — Plumbers/Pipefitters Union Hall, 3203 North Frontage Road

• Kings gym — Kings Community Empowerment Center, 224 R.L. Chase Circle

• Carpenters Union Hall — Carpenters Union Hall, 4589 U.S. 61 South

• Porters Chapel Methodist Church — Porters Chapel Methodist Church, 200 Porters Chapel Road

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com