With the June 8 municipal election nearing, poll workers, ballot counters and those who oversee voting are preparing to carry out their responsibilities and make the day go smoothly.
City Hall, rather than the American Legion Hall, will be the polling place for the election since it will be held for selecting municipal officials only. The poll will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In-person absentee voting at City Hall will be on May 29 and June 5 from 8 a.m. to 12 noon.
Town Clerk Angela Hester is conducting training sessions for key people in the election process.
Last week, the three election commissioners appointed by the Wesson Board of Aldermen who oversee the election -- Alena Hughes, Chad Sills and Sabrina Brown -- learned about their responsibilities.
"The job of each commissioner is to uphold the election law and see that the election is conducted in an honest and fair manner," Hester says. "Their duties encompass preparing and printing ballots, overseeing poll workers, securing all supplies, preparing poll books, compiling precinct results on election day, certifying election results, providing election data to the public and purging voter rolls in compliance with the National Voters Rights Act."
Hester will train two resolution board members responsible for counting absentee ballots at a May 27 session beginning at 9:30 a.m. and the three poll managers responsible for election day voting details at City Hall on May 29 at 9 a.m.
Wesson residents who will be at least 18 years old before June 8 can register to vote at City Hall or with Copiah County Circuit Clerk Edna Stevens through May 10 if they are not already registered or need to change their registrations. Wesson City Hall is open Monday thru Friday, May 3-7, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 8, from 8 a.m. to 12 noon for voter registration.
In the election, incumbents Mayor Alton Shaw and Ward Aldermen Larry Hall (Ward 1), Jarrad Ashley (Ward 2), Billy Ellison (Ward 3) and Michael King (Ward 3) will run unopposed. Incumbent Stephen Ashley will face former Alderman Van Graham and Mark Douglas in a contentious Alderman-at-Large race.
Because Wesson municipal candidates run as independents, they vie only in a general election with no preliminary primary election.