Voters have until Oct. 7 to register for election
Published 9:07 am Saturday, August 19, 2017
People who are not registered to vote and want to get on the rolls for the Nov. 7 special election for State House District 54 have until Oct. 7 to register.
Warren County Circuit Clerk Jan Daigre said her office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and will be open from 8 a.m. to noon Oct. 7, which is a Saturday, to register people to vote.
As of Friday afternoon, two people, Dr. Randy Easterling and Kevin Ford, have filed qualifying papers for the special election to fill the unexpired term of Alex Monsour, who was elected South Ward alderman in June. Their applications must be qualified by the state Election Commission to be on the Nov. 7 special election ballot. The election is a nonpartisan race. If needed, a runoff will be held Nov. 28.
To qualify for the election, a candidate must be a registered voter, a resident of the state for four years, be at least 21 years old and a resident of the district for two years before the day of the election.
Potential candidates file their qualifying papers with the Secretary of State’s Office. The deadline to file, Daigre said, is Sept. 9. Absentee voting is expected to begin Oct. 9.
“We will be open the two Saturdays before the election — Oct. 21 and 28 — from 8 a.m. until noon for absentee voting,” Daigre said.
Monsour, a Republican, resigned his seat in the Mississippi House July 5, about a month after defeating then-incumbent South Ward Alderman Willis Thompson in the June 6 municipal general elections.
His resignation came after a state Attorney General’s opinion said he could no longer serve as District 54 representative because under the city’s special charter the aldermen had administrative, as well as legislative responsibilities. Prior to winning the alderman’s seat, he had served in the Legislature for 10 years.