A state judge hearing the lawsuit challenging former Leflore County Supervisor Wayne Self’s narrow defeat in the Nov. 5 general election has indicated that he anticipates throwing out at least 39 absentee ballots.
Specially appointed Judge Jeff Weill, however, said during Monday’s first day of the trial that he is uncertain what remedy he might order.
Self, who had represented District 4 on the Board of Supervisors for 20 years, lost the election by 16 votes to challenger Eric Mitchell, who assumed the seat when the new four-year term began in January.
Former District 4 Supervisor Wayne Self sits pensively Monday during the first day of the trial.
Self, who is represented by Margarette Meeks of Jackson, is asking Weill to determine who received the most legal votes and, if that is not possible, to order a new election.
Mitchell is represented by Willie Griffin of Greenville.
Monday’s proceeding in Leflore County Circuit Court lasted nearly eight hours.
The trial was scheduled to continue at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Self’s challenge is based heavily on what he contends were either illegally or improperly cast absentee ballots.
The former supervisor’s attorney presented evidence showing that 40 absentee ballots lacked the legally required signature of the circuit clerk. She said that 39 of those ballots were returned by mail and should be thrown out.
Weill appeared to concur but said he would rule later on the ballots’ validity. It was not revealed during the hearing for whom those contested votes were cast.
Meeks was less successful in challenging another couple dozen absentee ballots.
She claimed, for example, that 22 absentee ballots should be thrown out because she believed they had been hand-delivered, rather than mailed. Weill denied that motion, however, after Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill and two of his deputies, Lisa Roberts and Jasmine McClung, testified that they did not accept any hand-delivered absentee ballot.
Weill also denied two other motions by Meeks asking for absentee ballots to be nullified. The judge ruled her objections were based on technical but inconsequential errors.
Self’s lawsuit also contends that election officials failed to properly secure the ballot boxes and their contents or to properly account for all the ballots cast.
For example, when Meeks conducted her examination of the ballot boxes on the Friday following the election, there were 50 accepted absentee ballots in the Southwest Greenwood box but only a handful of applications for those ballots.
Weill took this complaint under advisement, saying he would wait until he hears the remainder of the motions to make a ruling.
Kerrigan HerretLeflore County Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill is questioned by Margarette Meeks, the attorney for Wayne Self.
He also took under advisement Self’s complaint about the results at the Rising Sun precinct, where, according to the lawsuit, the election officials’ recap indicated 31 absentee ballots had been counted, but the receipt books showed only eight.
Meeks is expected to call her first witnesses Tuesday. She told the judge that she had subpoenaed seven people to testify.
Self sat through all of Monday’s proceedings. Mitchell left shortly before 4 p.m. to attend the regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting. He did not return to the courtroom before the trial recessed.
•Contact Kerrigan Herret at 581-7233 or kherret@gwcommonwealth.com.
