Election workers gear up for Primary Runoff Elections

MISSISSIPPI (WCBI) – Voters in Mississippi will be back at the polls on August 29 for runoffs in the Primary election.

Polls will open at 7 a.m. for Runoff Elections.

Oktibbeha County circuit clerk Tony Rook said it won’t be as busy but his office is still working to make sure voting runs smoothly.

For circuit clerk offices and election workers, preparation for the runoff started soon after the votes were counted and finalized for the primaries.

Rook predicted a lower turnout this time around.

“With runoffs, you usually see a lower turnout. So, we have approximately 28,000 registered voters here and about a third of them will be able to vote in this runoff election and the numbers are typically decreased from what you see in the primary,” said Rook.

Rook said there are usually 20 precincts open for voters. That number is cut in half because there won’t be many people who can vote this go around.

“There are 10 precincts that are allowed to vote some of those individuals vote for one run-off election and some can vote for two,” said Rook.

Rook said Oktibbeha County has over 100 splits which means voters have to know where they’re located on the map to know where they can vote.

Although the turnout is expected to be lower, there are still some issues that arise for each election day.

“There’s a lot of organization that goes on with the election commissioners and one big issue is you don’t have the time that you usually have for standard election because this is a runoff. We could not close the election for an additional week after the primary election date so they have very little time to get organized and prepare their supplies,” said Rook.

Rook encourages residents to check and see if they are eligible to vote in the runoff and if they are to bring a valid form of ID to vote.

For 24/7 news and updates, follow us on Facebook and Twitter