Absentee Voting In Sheriff’s Election Starts In January
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WATER VALLEY – The new year will bring a new election for sheriff with candidates Mark D. Fulco and Luther G. Folson on the ballot. The special election is scheduled in two of the county’s 12 precincts on Feb. 23 and Circuit Clerk Daryl Burney reported absentee voting will start on Jan. 9.
Voters who are registered in Beat One North and Beat 4 Oakland precincts are allowed to vote in the new election which was scheduled by Governor Tate Reeves following a lengthy court battle that spanned most of 2020.
Fulco was certified the winner of the first election, held Nov. 5, 2019, with a two-vote victory over Folson and took office in January. Folson contested the results and following a day of testimony on Jan. 23, Circuit Judge Jeff Weill ruled that an accurate vote count could not be determined in the two precincts. Weill ordered the new election, adding that the election results in the remaining 10 precincts would stand, giving Fulco a 39-vote lead that will be added to the results from the special election in the two precincts.
Folson appealed the lower court ruling, filing a notice with the Mississippi Supreme Court in March. Justices reviewed the case in September and issued a ruling in November affirming the lower court order for the new election.
The Supreme Court also ruled against a cross appeal filed by Fulco’s attorney requesting clarification on voters eligible to cast a ballot in the new election. The court’s order stated that the special election is a new election in the two precincts and that “newly registered voters are allowed to participate in the upcoming special election if they meet all the necessary requirements.”
A footnote in the Supreme Court ruling noted that voting more than once in the same election is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
Burney said new voters must register 30 days prior to the election.
Absentee Voting
Burney reported that absentee voting will extend from Jan. 9 to Feb. 20. His offices in Water Valley and Coffeeville will be open from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturday, Feb. 13, and Saturday, Feb. 20, for in-person absentee voting
