After months and months of campaigning, election day is less than a week away.
Calhoun countians will go to the polls next Tuesday, Nov. 3 to cast their votes in 18 contested races and Initiative 42 – the citizen sponsored initiative seeking improved funding for public schools.
Circuit Clerk Carlton Baker said the total number of registered voters in Calhoun County who are eligible to vote next Tuesday is 9,645.
Voter turnout in the 2011 November General Election was 61%. It has averaged 60% going back to the 2003 election.
Baker said approximately 220 have voted absentee thus far. Absentee voting concludes on Saturday, Oct. 31 at noon. The circuit clerk’s office in the Courthouse in Pittsboro will be open from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturday.
The ballot features four contested countywide races between a Republican and Democrat – sheriff, school superintendent, chancery clerk and county attorney. The sheriff’s race also includes an independent candidate.
There are five contested races in various districts in the county – supervisor in district two, three and four; constable post two; and the district three school board special election with three running for it. That race is non-partisan, and will not require a runoff. The top vote-getter wins the race even if he doesn’t receive 50% of the total vote.
There are seven contested statewide races – governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state auditor, state treasurer, and commissioner of agriculture.
There are also two contested races for North Mississippi – public service commissioner and transportation commissioner.
The final item on the ballot is Initiative 42. Voters will have to answer two questions. The first is whether you want to support either initiative or none.
The second question is whether to support the citizen’s Initiative 42 or the alternative proposed by the legislature, 42A.
Voting places are: District One – Word of Faith Church in Calhoun City, County Courthouse in Pittsboro; District Two – Chickenbone Fire Department, Pittsboro Fire Department; District Three – Bruce Fire Department, Banner Fire Department; District Four – Calhoun City Fire Department, Derma Town Hall; District Five – Derma Fire Department and Vardaman Fire Department.
Following is a listing of all the contested races on the ballot.
Governor
Phil Bryant, Republican
Robert Gray, Democrat
Shawn O’Hara, Reform
Lieutenant Governor
Tim Johnson, Democrat
Tate Reeves, Republican
Ron Williams, Libertarian
Rosa B. Williams, Reform
Secretary of State
Charles E. Graham, Democrat
Delbert Hosemann, Republican
Randy Walker, Reform
Attorney General
Jim Hood, Democrat
Mike Hurst, Republican
State Auditor
Stacey Pickering, Republican
Jocelyn Pepper Pritchett, Democrat
Lajena Walley, Reform
State Treasurer
Lynn Fitch, Republican
Viola V. McFarland, Reform
Commissioner of Agriculture
Addie Lee Green, Democrat
Cindy Hyde-Smith, Republican
Cathy L. Toole, Reform
Public Service Commissioner
Mike Maynard, Republican
Brandon Presley, Democrat
Transportation Commissioner
Mike Tagert, Republican
Danny Woods, Democrat
Chancery Clerk
Jimmy Clemons, Republican
Romona Tillman, Democrat
County Attorney
Karsunn Moore, Democrat
Tina Dugard Scott, Republican
Sheriff
Mark Hendrix, Democrat
Greg Pollan, Republican
Larry R. Swanson, Independent
Superintendent
Scotty Collins, Republican
Mike Moore, Democrat
Supervisor 2
Robert Henry, Republican
J.B. Rogers Jr., Democrat
Supervisor 3
Keith Bollinger, Republican
Gwin Longest, Democrat
Supervisor 4
David W. Martin, Republican
Barney J. Wade, Democrat
Constable Post II
Barry D. Cannon, Republican
Benny Langford, Democrat
Special Election
School Board Dist. 3
Willie “Coach” Brown
Ken Camp
Bubba Weeks
The Journal will update election results as they come in on its website (calhouncountyjournal.com) and on its Twitter account (@calhcojournal).