Voters living in state House District 82 will head to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in a special election to decide who will represent them at the capitol in Jackson.

 

Gov. Tate Reeves called the election in January following the death of Rep. Charles Young Jr., who represented District 82 for more than 12 years.

 

Three candidates have qualified to succeed Young and appear on voters’ ballots including Joe Norwood Sr., a longtime Lauderdale County Supervisor, Gregory Elliot, who serves on Meridian’s Civil Service Commission, and Meridian attorney Joseph Denson, a former public defender who operates his own law practice in the city.

 

At an NAACP Candidate Forum held Wednesday at The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience, the three candidates made their case to voters why they are the best men for the job. Local NAACP President De’Angelo Houston asked the candidates to discuss their stances on healthcare and education.

 

Denson said his 19-year career as an attorney has uniquely prepared him for the role in the state House with years of experience in researching complex topics and advocating for a particular outcome. On education, he said he believes public funding should go to public schools.

 

In the classrooms, students should learn about the nation’s true history, Denson said, with both good and bad aspects of the past presented. Omitting history that is uncomfortable or potentially upsetting only provides children with a “pseudo-history,” which put them at a disadvantage, he said.

 

“When we have a jury trial, I can’t tell the jury, ’These are certain facts you cannot hear,’ because I want a specific decision at the end,” he said. “I think it’s important that children learn the history as it developed, whether that be good or bad.”

 

On healthcare, Denson said he supports expanding access to healthcare for all residents.

 

Elliot said he believes efforts to reduce or eliminate the Department of Education at the federal level will mean more programs getting pushed down to the state level. Many of those programs fund things such as free and reduced lunches and after school activities, he said, and the representative from House District 82 will need to play an active role in making sure those benefits remain available for Meridian’s students.

 

“What we’re going to have to do in the legislature is to fight as hard as we can to make sure that not if, but when the Department of Education is disbanded, that we fight hard to let the state Republicans fund what the federal Republicans have pushed down,” he said.

 

If elected, Elliot said he will also add his voice to the continued push for medicaid expansion in the state to cover those making too much for current medicaid rules but not enough to afford private insurance.

 

Norwood said he is in favor of medicaid expansion and roughly 32% of Lauderdale County residents would benefit from the expanded access to healthcare. However, he doesn’t believe it has the support needed to pass. The fight for medicaid expansion has been ongoing for more than a decade and doesn’t look likely to end anytime soon, he said.

 

“Until there’s votes to do that, it ain’t going to happen,” he said.

 

Tuesday’s election is open to residents of House District 82 only, and residents can check if they are eligible to participate by looking at the number under REP on their voter registration card. According to the Lauderdale County Circuit Clerk’s office just 13 of the county’s 37 voting precincts fall within the District 82 boundaries.

 

If one of the three candidates does not receive at least 50% of the vote plus one vote in the special election, a runoff will be held April 22 between the top two candidates.

 

Absentee voting is ongoing at the circuit clerk’s office through Saturday. The office will be open 8 a.m. to noon Saturday to give residents who cannot come during the work week a chance to vote via absentee.

 

Absentee voting is also underway in Meridian municipal primary elections, which are set for April 1. On the ballot will be races for Meridian’s mayor and five city council seats. Residents can request absentee ballots at City Hall, which will also be open 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, and again on March 29, for residents to vote absentee.