September 17 at 5 p.m., has been set as the qualifying deadline for the District 31 special election to fill the seat vacated last month by Rep. Sara Richardson Thomas. Thomas announced her resignation and the list of potential candidates began to grow.
Anyone desirous of entering the race must qualify as an independent by presenting a list of at least 50 qualified electors from District 31, which encompasses portions of Sunflower and Washington counties.
Circuit Clerk Carolyn Hamilton said each county’s clerk will have to qualify the names from their respective county. so, signatures from different counties should be placed on separate sheets. Hamilton said she will not be able to certify residents from any other county but Sunflower.
The candidates will also have to pay a $250 fee to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office along with the certified list and she urges all candidates to submit their lists for verification in a timely manner. Although her office typically can certify within 24 hours, Hamilton said if they are done at the last minute her clerks will not have time to validate the lists.
This winner of the District 31 seat will fill the vacancy until the end of the current term, and another election will take place after that.
In addition to the District 31 race, the Sunflower County District 4 school board position is also up for grabs. Torrey Bell is currently serving as interim, but a special election is required to finish out the term that expires in December 2019.
The qualifying deadline for that position is September 7 and paperwork including the required 50 signatures is due before 5 p.m. on that day.
Hamilton again cautions the candidates not to wait until the last minute since it will take time to validate the list. She said packets that are not dropped off until 5 p.m. on the 7th will not have time to have the signatures verified because none will be done after the 5 p.m. deadline.
Qualifying forms can be picked up at the circuit clerks’ office or online at the Mississippi Secretary of State’s website. In both cases the signatures have to come from qualified electors in that district. The election is set for November 6. If a runoff election is necessary, it will be held November 29.
