Guide to Special Election for State House Seat

A special election will be held July 25th to fill the empty State House of Representatives seat for District 108. The seat was held for 24 years by Picayune’s Mark Formby, who took the position of chairman of the state Workers Compensation Commission back in April on an appointment from Governor Phil Bryant.

Pearl River County Circuit Clerk, Nance Fitzpatrick Stokes, came by WRJW on Friday, to give listeners some additional information about the upcoming election.

The Candidates - There are three candidates on the ballot for the empty seat; Tavish Kelly, Stacey Wilkes, and Jerry Frazier. Because of the special nature of this election all three candidates will be running independent, without any party affiliation.

Absentee Voting - Absentee voting is going on now for this election. If you need to file an absentee vote you can do so at the Circuit Clerk office in the Poplarville Courthouse or in the Circuit Clerk office in the Government Complex on Goodyear Blvd. in Picayune. Both offices are open from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday. The Circuit Clerk offices will also be open the two Saturdays prior to the election, July 15 and July 22, from 8am to noon. The cut off for absentee voting is July 22 at 12:00pm.

Mississippi does not allow early voting, so to absentee vote you must either be 65 or older, temporarily or permanently disabled, or be out of the county on Election Day.

Registration - To qualify to vote in this race you must be registered 30 days prior. The cutoff to register to vote was last week. So only those who have already registered can take part in this election.

Election Day - Polls will be open on July 25, from 7am to 7pm. There are 13 precincts open for district 108. If you are unsure about where to vote see the sample ballot below, call the Circuit Clerk’s office at (601) 403-2328 or visit the Pearl River County Website.