Courthouses Open Next Two Saturdays For Absentee Voting In Special Election For Sheriff

Yalobusha County Circuit Clerk Daryl Burney reports his offices in the Water Valley and Coffeeville courthouses will be open Saturday, Feb. 13, and Saturday, Feb. 20, from 8 a.m. to noon for absentee voting in the special election for sheriff. Feb. 20 is also the deadline to vote absentee in the election. Burney also reported almost 100 voters have already voted in the race at presstime Tuesday.
The special election is scheduled Tuesday, Feb. 23, in two precincts –  Beat One North and Beat Four Oakland. The precincts will be open on election day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Two candidates are on the ballot,  Mark D. Fulco and Luther G. Folson, Jr.
The special election was ordered in circuit court a year ago and confirmed by the Mississippi Supreme Court last November following a lengthy court battle that spanned much of 2020.  Voters in 10 of the 12 precincts cannot vote in this election. More information about the court ordered special election includes:
1) Only voters in two of the county’s 12 precincts – Beat One North and Beat Four  Oakland – are eligible to vote in this election.
2) The results from the two precincts will be added to the certified vote count from the Nov. 5, 2019, election in the other 10 precincts. This means that Fulco has 1,878 votes and Folson has 1,839 votes that will be added to the new votes cast in the Feb. 23 special election.
3) If you are a registered voter in the Beat One North Precinct or the Beat Four Oakland precinct, you can vote in the special election even if you did not vote in the first election for sheriff on Nov. 5, 2019.
4) New voters who moved into the two precincts will be allowed to vote in the special election, according to the Mississippi Supreme Court’s ruling.
5) However voters who have already cast a vote in one of the 10 precincts in the Nov. 5, 2019 election cannot move into the Beat One North Precinct or Beat Four Oakland precinct and vote in the special election. This would be voting twice in the same election, which is a felony in Mississippi.
6) The winner of the election will serve the remainder of the four-year term, which runs from 2020 thru the end of 2023.

Mississippi Absentee Ballot Rules
If you are unable to make it to the ballot box on February because of work demands, your age (over 65), a temporary relocation like attending university, service in the U.S. Armed Forces, previous health issues or current health concerns due to COVID-19, you may be eligible to vote by absentee ballot.
For in-person absentee voting, the clerk will confirm you are a registered voter in the county by checking the Statewide Elections Management System, verifying your address and looking at a photo ID.
You will also be asked your reason for wanting to vote absentee.