Coroner tops local ballot

By Steve Swogetinsky

The Kemper Messenger

The nation is focused on the 2020 presidential election which is now less than a week away.

The General Election is set for Tuesday with polls opening at 7 a.m. and closing at 7 p.m. The final day of in person, absentee voting will be Saturday. The Circuit Clerk’s office will be opened all day, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

In Kemper County, there is also a special election on the ballot to determine who fill to position of coroner for the remainder of the term

Terry Bostick will face Carla Pettus White for the position. Bostick served as coroner until he lost in the last general election. The winner resigned shortly afterwards and supervisors appointed Bostick to fill the post until an election could be held.

Three election commissioner posts will be on the ballot but only one is contested. Zac Clay and Dominique Grace Eades will be vying for the District 3 commissioner post. Roy Boyd is unopposed for District 1 as is Charles Hollingsworth Jr. in District 2,

Tyrone Steele is running unopposed for school board member, District 5.

National

The presidential election will draw the most attention.

President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Michael Pence are seeking re-election. They face the challenge of Democrats former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Sen. Kamala D. Harris.

There are seven other candidates for president listed on the ballot.

Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith faces the challenge of Democrat Michael Espy. Libertarian candidate Jimmy L. Edwards is also on the ballot.

Republican Michael Guest is seeking re-election as U.S. representative in Mississippi’s Third Congressional District. He is being challenged by Democrat Dorothy Dot Benford.

State

Judge Kenny Griffis of Ridgeland is seeking his first full term as state Supreme Court Justice for District 1.

Judge Griffis was appointed as an associate justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court Place 1 on February 1, 2019. He previously served as chief judge of the Mississippi Court of Appeals, and as a presiding judge. He is being challenged by Latrice Westbrooks of Lexington. Westbrooks was elected to the Mississippi Court of Appeals in 2016. If elected, she would become the first Black woman elected to the state Supreme Court.

Judge Leslie King is running unopposed for re-election as state Supreme Court justice in the Central District, Place 2. Judge King has served on the court since being appointed in 2011. He is the only member of the court who is Black.

There are two proposed amendments to the Mississippi Constitution on the ballot.

Initiatives 65 and 65A pertain to the legalization of Medical Marijuana.  The first would make the change by writing it into the Mississippi Constitution. The latter would change the Legislature write it into law.

Voters can vote in favor of one of the initiatives or vote against both,

There is also a Flag Referendum on the ballot where Mississippians vote yes or no on the new design of the Mississippi flag.

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