The Lauderdale County Election Commission will assist the City of Meridian with this year’s municipal election.

The city council voted on Tuesday to authorize an agreement between the city and the Lauderdale County Election Commissioners. The county commission will help the City Election Commission conduct the municipal election.

Brandye Latimer, the City of Meridian’s chief financial officer and city clerk, said the Lauderdale County Election Commission will assist the city with the hiring and training of poll workers. The commission will also provide and test voting machines, help the city pack ballot boxes and support the city on election day.

Latimer said the City Election Commission will have some of the same duties as the county’s commission. A duty unique to the city commission, though, is certifying independent candidates for mayor or city council.

Latimer said the city’s commission only runs an election once every four years, while the county’s election commission runs elections more frequently. The city’s commission only undergoes training the year of the municipal election, while the county’s commission undergoes training each year.

The county’s commission also has its own voting machines. If the city didn’t use the county commission’s machines, the city would have to pay a company to rent the machines, which would be an expensive cost, according to Latimer.

Deadline for applying to run for mayor and city council

Meridian residents interested in running for mayor or for a seat on the city council have until 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 5 to apply.

Party primaries are on April 6; if a run-off is necessary, it would take place on April 27. The general election is June 8.

According to Latimer, Republican and Democratic candidates for city council and mayor have to fill out a form, called the Qualifying Statement of Intent, and pay a $10 fee.

To qualify, independent candidates for mayor have to fill out a Qualifying Statement of Intent form and get signatures from 50 city residents who are registered to vote in the city. Independent candidates for city council have to fill out a form and receive signatures from 50 ward residents who are registered to vote in that ward.

Candidates for city council or mayor must be city residents who will have lived in the city for at least two years before the election date. They also have to be 18 years or older and cannot have committed certain felonies.

After candidates have submitted their applications, the Democratic and Republican parties have to qualify their parties’ candidates for those individuals to run in the election, according to Latimer.

The City Election Commission has to qualify independent candidates for those individuals to run.