Polls open for Election Day
Published 2:00 am Tuesday, November 5, 2024
It’s Election Day Tuesday and Lauderdale County voters will head to the polls to cast their votes for the candidate they want to see as the 47th President of the United States. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to give voters a chance to stop in and fill out their ballot.
On the ballot, Vice President and Democrat nominee Kamala Harris faces off against former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump in the presidential contest. They will be joined on the ballot by Green Party’s Jill Stein, Libertarian Chase Oliver and Constitution Party candidate Randall Terry, as well as independents Shiva Ayyadurai, Claudia De la Cruz, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Peter Sonski.
Another crowded field will be the race for state Supreme Court Justice for the Central District. The court is made up of nine justices, with three elected from each of the North, Central and South districts.
In the race, incumbent Jim Kitchens is running for reelection against Jenifer Branning, Byron Carter, Ceola James and Abby Gaile Robinson. The winner will serve an eight-year term.
A position on the state Court of Appeals is also up for grabs this year, with incumbent Jack Wilson running unopposed.
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Tupelo, also faces a challenger in his reelection campaign with Democrat Ty Pinkins, a native of Rolling Fork, U.S. Army Veteran and Civil Rights attorney, also running for the seat. The winner will serve a six-year term, with Wicker believed to be the candidate most likely to win.
U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Brandon, who represents Mississippi’s 3rd Congressional District, is also up for reelection, along with the state’s other three representatives. Guest, who first took office in 2018, is running unopposed.
Locally, Deputy Tax Assessor Whitney Hodges will appear on the ballot running for Lauderdale County Tax Assessor. Hodges worked closely with former Assessor James Rainey and served as his No. 2 when he was unavailable. Rainey died in February shortly after being sworn into a new term, and a special election was called to fill his seat.
This year’s election will also see some election commissioner seats and Lauderdale County School Board seats up for grabs as well. For election commission, District 1 Commissioner Chuck Overby and District 3 Commissioner Awana Simmons are both running for reelection unopposed. In District 5, Russell Keene is the only candidate who qualified to run in place of Cory Reece, who is stepping down after this term.
For school board, Josh Thompson is running for the District 3 seat, and Brad Pigott is running for District 4. Both candidates are unopposed.
Voters are reminded to bring valid identification to the polls. Accepted IDs include a driver’s license, military ID, gun permit or school or other government-issued ID. Any voter without ID will be allowed to cast an affidavit ballot, also called a provisional ballot. Those voters will then have until Nov. 13 to bring the necessary documentation to the circuit clerk’s office.
Residents unsure of where they should vote can visit the Secretary of State’s voter portal at sos.ms.gov/yall-vote to find their polling location.