Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Trouble Report

2:26 p.m. Caller reports overly enthusiastic poll watchers at the Velma Young precinct. One interferred with a conversation between a voter and a poll manager; a poll manager was pulled away from her duty station to converse with a poll watcher making voters stand in line; and one poll watcher vocalized a threat to "throw out the box" when an elderly voter requested her daughter help her vote.

Turnout report

From the Meridian Star:

(4:38 p.m.) Circuit Clerk: voter turnout slow
Lauderdale County Circuit Clerk Donna Jill Johnson said voter turnout appears to be low in today's election for District 82 representative on the Mississippi Legislature. Johnson said she has not heard from other precincts, but that turnout has been very slow at the Courthouse precinct and that the volume of phone calls at the circuit clerk's office has been below normal for an election day. Johnson said that election days usually bring with them a large number of phone calls from confused voters seeking guidance. Today, though, Johnson said, "Our phones have not been ringing off the wall." She said that, though the polls opened at 7 a.m., the Courthouse did not see its first voter until around 8:45 a.m. "It's been a pretty quiet day," she said. On the bright side, Johnson said she has had no reports of problems from poll workers.







4:44 p.m. Caller reports 437 have voted at Jaycee.


10:00 a.m. Caller reports no issues and all appears to be running smoothly in the district.


9:28 a.m. Caller reports the following vote totals:
Velma Young -- 100
Northwest -- 50
Council -- 43
New Hope -- 19
Courthouse -- 17

8:45 a.m. A different caller reports that Secretary of State representatives wearing SOS logo shirts are on the ground in the District. One was spotted poll watching at the Jaycee location.

8:27 a.m. A caller reports that 79 have voted at the Jaycee location.


Attendance at the polls appears to be light to moderate according to a report from the field this morning. The caller has been riding from polling place to polling place since 7:00 a.m.

House District 82 Precincts

2:23 p.m. From today's Meridian Star:

Not everyone in Lauderdale County is eligible to vote in District 82 elections. Of the 54 voting precincts in Lauderdale County, only 12 are in House District 82. Of those 12, four are split precincts in which some of the voters are in other House Districts and cannot vote in District 82. All voters in precincts 105, 204, 206, 214, 411, 412, 415, and 420 are eligible to vote in today's election. Some, but not all, of the voters in precincts 101, 202, 303, and 410 are eligible to vote in House District 82 elections. To determine eligibility, voters can refer to their voter registration cards. Voters in District 82 will have either "SH82" or "House 82" printed under the box labeled "REP" on their cards. Voters can also refer to their cards to determine their polling place. Polling places are listed at the top of the box on the right hand side of the card under the heading "County Precinct."A voter's county polling place is not always the same as their city polling place, so some voters will not go to the same polling place they used during the city elections earlier this month.

7:06 a.m. The following precincts, all in Meridian, are included in House District 82:

Velma Young Community Center
Jaycee Building
Northwest Junior High School gym
Council of Organizations
Courthouse
Hamasa Temple Shrine-Ballroom
Central Fire Station #1
New Hope Baptist Church
Meridian Housing Authority
Poplar Springs Drive United Methodist Church
Poplar Springs School
MCCSA (Old Mt. Barton School)

Today's Weather for District 82

District 82 should see sunshine and a high of 94 degrees today, with a few clouds this afternoon, but no rain predicted. Polls are now open and will close at 7:00 p.m.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Mississippi House 82 Election June 30 Reporting Set

Visit this blog site through the day on Tuesday, June 30, to see the latest reports from the field during the special election for the Mississippi House of Representatives member from District 82 in Lauderdale County. Every effort will be made to verify the information before it is reported.