Politicking Is Down To The Final Hours

 By William Browning

WATER VALLEY – With the finish line in sight, our politicking hopefuls have been relentlessly pounding podiums, strutting sidewalks and hugging hands, all in trying to gain an inch’s advantage in their respective races.

    And while the number of podiums and sidewalks stay the same each year, the pairs of hands to shake has risen this year as almost 500 new voters have registered in Yalobusha county in recent months.

    Circuit Clerk Daryl Burney says he anticipates 6,000-to-6,500 voters to turn out for the Aug. 7 Democratic Primary.

    “That’s about 60 percent voter turnout,” Burney said, adding there are approximately 10,000 registered voters in Yalobusha County.

    There will be little change in this election, when compared to the last, according to Burney.

    However, the county will use a paper ballot (as always) and an electronic scanner (for the first time in a countywide election).

    The ES & S scanners – which were used in the 2006 election – should make the vote totals much quicker than they were four years ago.

    “We were the first to report our election results in the state during the 2006 election, and I expect to be one of the first in the upcoming Democratic Primary,” Burney said.

    Burney added, “Poll-worker training has gone well; voters will notice little change in the election process.”

    The county has 15 of the ES & S scanners, with four of those being backups. Each of the 11 voting precincts in Yalobusha county will use one of scanners. The scanners can hold 4,500 votes at a time.

    “That’s more than enough,” Burney said.

    There are 38 candidates for the 15 elected seats in Yalobusha county.