Although all races in Oktibbeha County have been called, two statewide races remain too close to call following the Nov. 8 general election. County residents will have a chance to cast ballots in two state judicial races Tuesday.
Over 27,800 voters are currently registered in the county, an increase of around 3,000 new voters since 2012, according to county data. In the Nov. 8 races, voters in Oktibbeha County cast just over 18,000 ballots, with just over 64 percent of all registered voters participating.
Mississippi's overall voter turnout this year decreased by 75,000 votes from the 2012 general election. Over 1.2 million votes were cast in Mississippi, along with 104,895 accepted absentee ballots. Out of the state's 1.8 million registered voters, less than 600 were turned away at the polls for improper identification, according to state data.
The state will cast electoral votes for president Dec. 19 in Jackson, and the state is set to cast six votes for president-elect Donald Trump. In contrast, Oktibbeha County cast 8,859 votes for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, to the Republican's 8,576 votes.
Polls will open at 7 a.m., Tuesday and remain open until 7 p.m. If voters are in line at 7 p.m., ballots can still be cast. When arriving at the polls, voters must show some form of photo identification. Acceptable IDs include a driver's license; a state ID; a U.S. passport; a government employee card; a firearms license; a student ID issued by an accredited state university, college or community college; a military ID; a tribal ID; and any other photo ID issued by the federal government.
For a map of the area's 21 polling places, visit oktibbehacountyms.org/?q=node/336.
Supreme Court District 3 (Northern)
Attorney John Brady of Columbus and Circuit Judge Bobby Chamberlin of Hernando have advanced to a runoff for a northern district seat on the Mississippi Supreme Court.
The race stems from an open seat due to current Justice Ann Lamar of Senatobia is not seeking another eight-year term. The other candidates were attorney Steve Crampton of Tupelo and Circuit Judge James T. "Jim" Kitchens of Caledonia. Kitchens nearly 8,000 votes in Oktibbeha County, or just over 49 percent of all county votes. Brady tallied 4,116 votes, and Chamberlin netted 2,400 votes, according to county data.
The district includes 33 counties, from the Tennessee state line down to Attala and Winston counties in the center of the state.
Court of Appeals District 3
Incumbent Jack Wilson will face Ed Hannan in a runoff after the pair remain within 12 percent of each candidate's vote total. Wilson netted 109.864 statewide votes to Hannan's 81,751. In Oktibbeha County, Wilson received 7,430 votes to Hannan's 4,238.
The district spans Attala, Clark, Clay, Jasper, Jones, Kemper, Lauderdale, Leake, Lowndes, Madison, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Rankin, Scott Smith, Wayne and Winston counties.