Leflore County’s top election official says he is working to ensure Tuesday’s special elections for Itta Bena’s Ward 1 and mayoral seats are conducted smoothly.
“I’m an Itta Bena native. I understand their financial bind,” Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill said. “My goal is to ensure they have fair elections.”
Stockstill has provided training for the city’s election commissioners and voting officials, as required by a court order, and sent out voter registration cards so residents of an area that Itta Bena annexed in 2014 could officially register to vote.
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Residents of Wards 1 and 2 will vote at the Itta Bena public library, and Wards 3 and 4 will vote at the city’s fire department.
On the ballot for the Ward 1 alderman seat are Jennifer Walker, the incumbent, and Jo Ann Purnell. In the mayor’s race, incumbent Reginald Freeman will face Patricia Young.
In last June’s mayoral general election, Freeman received 199 votes, or 44%, to Young’s 194 votes, or 43%.
In Ward 1, Walker received 39 votes, or 34%, beating out Purnell, the incumbent, who had 37 votes, or 33% of the vote.
Young and Purnell filed lawsuits disputing their races’ results, both alleging fraud and voting irregularities.
Young’s challenge resulted in a three-day trial in October which was presided by Special Circuit Court Judge Jeff Weill Sr.
Stockstill testified in that trial that he was never informed by Itta Bena officials at the time about the city’s 2014 annexation of land along County Road 507, also known as Sunflower Road.
This meant that Stockstill had never made adjustments to the Statewide Election Management System to register residents of the annexed area.
Stockstill said he did not know about the annexation until a day after last summer’s general election.
Residents in the annexed area voted by affidavit ballots in the 2017 and 2021 general elections.
There are several reasons people may vote by affidavit ballot, including the absence of their names from the poll books, Stockstill said. Affidavit ballots are sworn statements that the voters live in the precincts in which they are voting.
Canvassing is done to ensure each person voted in the correct precinct.
About 100 affidavit ballots were cast in last year’s election, which is an unusually high number for a municipality the size of Itta Bena, Stockstill said.
Largely based on the annexation issue, Weill issued two special orders in November vacating the results of election for the Ward 1 and mayoral races and to hold a special election for these two seats. A court order issued in January set this Tuesday as the date for the election.
Since then, Itta Bena officials have incorporated the annexed area — which Stockstill believes to have about 125 registered voters — into Ward 1. The board will redraw the boundaries of the city’s four wards to equalize populations later.
There are 1,560 registered voters in Itta Bena, Stockstill said.
The cost of the special election for the city will be around $2,500, which includes payment for the election commissioners and poll staff, Freeman said. However, he added, the cost could increase if election commissioners have to work any additional days after election day.
Stockstill said he waived his billing for voting services to Itta Bena, which typically ranges from $4,000 to $5,000, to help save the city money.
In his order setting the date for the special election, Weill did not specify when the newly elected candidates will take office after Tuesday’s results are certified. However, Freeman said he assumes they would take office April 1, because those who won the June election took office July 1.
“Once this election is over, we all just need to come together to help move the community forward,” Stockstill said.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 662-581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
