Throughout parts of Grenada County, political signs and voter reminders are starting to appear as absentee voting for the General Election is only two months away.
“We want to remind county voters that there is an election this year,” Circuit Clerk Michele Redditt-Garcia said. “We have three local races that are expected to be on the ballot this year with one held to fill a justice court seat, an election commissioner seat and one school board seat.”
Three candidates have filed qualifying paperwork to run for Justice Court Judge in the Western District and will appear on the election ballot in November. The qualifying window ends on Monday, Sept. 3.
According to Redditt-Garcia, Rusty Harlow, Tangala Hollis Palmer and Vincent Marascalco have submitted the necessary paperwork to run to fill the unexpired justice court seat. Currently, those three will run in November to fill the seat of the late Jimmy Tallant, who passed away in January.
The special election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 2, and those seeking to qualify still have time to add their name to the mix.
“Those seeking the position will have a $100 qualifying fee and because this is a special election, everyone will run as Independent,” Redditt-Garcia said.
In order to run for justice court judge, an individual must be a qualified elector, at least 21 years of age. Additionally, they must possess a high school diploma or its equivalent.
Justice courts have jurisdiction over small claims civil cases involving amounts of $3,500 or less, misdemeanor criminal cases and any traffic offense that occurs outside a municipality. Justice Court judges may conduct bond hearings and preliminary hearings in felony criminal cases and may issue search warrants.
Justice Court judges are the only Mississippi judges elected to four-year terms.
Election Commissioner
Also on the November ballot is the District 1 Election Commissioner seat. As of press time there was only one that has qualified to run for the seat.
Susan Williams has qualified to run in November for the seat that was left vacant following the resignation of Wanda Ward in May. Williams was sworn in to replace Ward until the November special election. Since then Williams has been the only person to qualify for the District 1 Commissioners seat.
To run for the seat, potential candidates must turn in 50 signatures from residents in their respected district to qualify.
District 2 School Board Seat
Next week, the qualifying window opens for the District 2 School Board Seat.
According to Redditt-Garcia, qualifying for the seat opens Wednesday, Aug. 4. Qualifying papers for potential candidates will be available at the circuit clerk’s office, and 50 signatures are required when returned. The 50 signatures, according to Redditt-Garcia, must be from registered voters of that district.
Dr. David Braswell is the current District 2 school board trustee and was first elected to the seat in 2009.
