Although an apparent mistake on certain ballots in the August 8 primary election allowed some residents to vote in at least one race outside their districts, election officials say the error – which was caused by the recent redistricting of political lines – did not affect the results in any way and will be corrected by the time the November 7 general election rolls around.
The main issue seemed to have been at the Petal Civic Center precinct, where voters cast ballots in the Senate District 42 race, which does not include that area. That race featured Republican candidates Robin Robinson and Don Hartness, who competed for the position that will be vacated by current Senator Chris McDaniel as a result of his race against Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann.
Instead, that precinct should have featured District 45, which is currently represented by Chris Johnson.
“It’s not hurt anything – it’s just something that never came to light until this election,” Forrest County Circuit Clerk Gwen Wilks said. “We let the Secretary of State’s office know about it, and (they said) nothing would change for anybody that’s on the ballot.
“Come November, it will be fixed. The general election will not have that problem.”
District 42 encompasses a large part of Jones County – including Ellisville, Sandersville, Moselle and parts of Laurel – and a small part of the northern portion of Petal. After the recent redistricting, which was enacted after the 2020 census, some small areas south of Mississippi 42 in Petal were subtracted from the district and absorbed into another.
The redistricting process is considered every 10 years, after each census. It is designed so each ward or district can reach the ideal population to better comply with the “One-Person-One-Vote” principle according to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which ensures that each area has an equal amount of representation.
As a result of that process, the boundaries of wards or districts are often added to or taken away from to meet that goal.
In Forrest County, Robinson defeated Hartness by a total of 1,295 votes to 952. Broken down by precinct, those votes are as follows:
- Bar-Mac: Robinson 452 votes, Hartness 349 votes;
- Leeville: Robinson 305 votes, Hartness 245 votes;
- Petal Civic Center: Robinson 242 votes, Hartness 172 votes;
- Petal Masonic: Robinson 220 votes, Hartness 147 votes; and
- West Petal: Robinson 76 votes, Hartness 39 votes.
As such, if the race had not been represented at the Petal Civic Center precinct, the total in Forrest County would have been Robinson’s 1,053 votes to Hartness’ 780 votes.
In Jones County, Robinson defeated Hartness by a total of 5,455 to 4,390. Broken down by precinct, those votes are as follows:
- Antioch: Robinson 115 votes, Hartness 102 votes;
- Calhoun: Robinson 432 votes, Hartness 421 votes;
- Erata: Robinson 71 votes, Hartness 44 votes;
- First Assembly of God: Robinson 163 votes; Hartness 128 votes;
- George Harrison: Robinson 283 votes, Hartness 255 votes;
- Glade: Robinson 291 votes, Hartness 162 votes;
- Johnson: Robinson 154 votes, Hartness 184 votes;
- Landrum: Robinson 104 votes, Hartness 100 votes;
- Magnolia Center: Robinson 0 votes, Hartness 2 votes;
- Matthews: Robinson 134 votes, Hartness 135 votes;
- Merchants Park: Robinson 120 votes, Hartness 177 votes;
- Moselle: Robinson 208 votes, Hartness 144 votes;
- Myrick: Robinson 353 votes, Hartness 243 votes;
- North Laurel: Robinson 399 votes, Hartness 245 votes;
- Ovett: Robinson 183 votes, Hartness 137 votes;
- Pine Grove: Robinson 177 votes, Hartness 183 votes;
- Pleasant Ridge: Robinson 189 votes, Hartness 149 votes;
- Powers: Robinson 247 votes, Hartness 184 votes;
- Rustin: Robinson 169 votes, Hartness 129 votes;
- Sandersville: Robinson 191 votes, Hartness 97 votes;
- Shady Grove: Robinson 372 votes, Hartness 335 votes;
- Sharon: Robinson 351 votes, Hartness 369 votes
- Springhill/Mauldin: Robinson 258 votes, Hartness 195 votes;
- Tuckers: Robinson 284 votes, Hartness 122 votes; and
- Union: Robinson 207 votes, Hartness 148 votes.
Officials from the office of Michael Watson, who serves as Mississippi Secretary of State and preside over elections in the state, said they will be in touch with local officials to ensure matters are resolved for the general election.
“At this point, there’s just not a lot that can be done,” communications officer Elizabeth Jonson said. “We’ll have our (assistant secretary of state) follow up with (local officials), once they start getting ready for the general.”
John Brady Amacker, a resident of Ward 4 in Petal, said he noticed the discrepancy on election day. In fact, he had researched data on the district lines beforehand, as he knew redistricting had recently taken place.
“I’m still in District 45, but when I went to vote I had the (District 42) race,” he said. “I was really concerned when I first saw it on my ballot, that we had the wrong race on there.
“I didn’t notice any other issues, but you’ve got to figure that some of these other district lines are even more complex, kind of dividing them out among the precincts, so it just got me wondering if there were any mistakes elsewhere.
“So it’s just kind of concerning to see that happen, and kind of with nationally we have a degrading of public faith in the election process. I know that our election officials work pretty hard, but getting the right candidates on the right ballot is one of the most important parts of this process. I do (have faith that it will be fixed), if they said that they’re aware of the problem and are going to look at it. I’ll definitely go vote again, but it’s kind of disheartening to hear that they’re not retroactive in fixing it.”
Blake Nobles, who serves as Ward 2 Alderman in Petal and votes at the civic center, also had some concerns about the issue.
“Elections are obviously voters’ foremost method of making sure their will is taken into account by their representatives,” he said. “I’m sure the recent census and redistricting presented a rare challenge for the state and county election offices, so we want to be understanding, but we’re counting on all the voting districts being right for the general election so people can vote for the races that affect them.
“I’m sure they’ll have everything sorted out by November and from here forward.”
