The City of Canton Election Commissioners refused to certify the election for Ward 2 alderman today. Don Bates won the election as the Mayor's wife came in third. Commissioner Johnny Rodgers called a meeting for 10:00 AM but the other two commissioners did not appear at City Hall. A meeting was scheduled for last Friday afternoon at 4:00 PM. However, the two commissioners refused to enter the room where the aldermen meet and elections are certified. The two commissioners then ran to the parking lot and left in their cars when Commissioner Rogers tried to hold a meeting in the hallway. Mr. Bates is the only white candidate in the race and received 272 votes- two shy winning the election outright. The ward is majority black.
State law mandates the Election Commission has to certify the election within five days after election day. Section 23-15-611 of the Mississippi Code states:
"(1) In municipal elections, managers of elections shall, immediately upon the closing of the polls, count the ballots and ascertain the number of votes cast in each voting precinct for each of the candidates or ballot measures and make a return thereof to the municipal election commissioners. On the day following the election, the election commissioners shall canvass the returns so received from all voting precincts and shall, within five (5) days after such election, deliver to each person receiving the highest number of votes a certificate of election. If it shall appear that any two (2) or more of the candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall have received an equal number of votes, the election shall be decided by lot, fairly and publicly drawn by the election commissioners with the aid of two (2) or more qualified electors of the municipality.
(2) Within five (5) days after any election, the municipal election commissioners shall transmit a statement to the Secretary of State certifying the name or names of the person or persons elected thereat, and such person or persons shall be issued commissions by the Governor. The statement shall also include vote totals for each candidate for each office and vote totals for and against ballot measures, if any, including the vote totals for each candidate a ballot measure in each precinct in the municipality.
The election was Tuesday.
This is the post from Friday and will provide the entire history of this ordeal:
Update: Commission did not meet at 1:00 PM. Two commissioners were at city hall at 1:30 and spoke in parking lot for 30 minutes, violating open meeting law. They came in and provided details of the outside meeting. Commissioner Brown said he wanted the other candidates there and then left. Commissioner Powell said she had concerns that the election was not properly conducted. She said she would not certify election. SOS, Attorney Ed Blackmon, and Attorney General were consulted and she was informed of that fact. She said she had to talk to SOS but would only call that office from her house and then left. Commissioner Rogers is ready to certify but can not do so without one of the other two. They are supposed to meet at 4:00 PM.
Update: Commission did not meet this morning as two commissioners could not be present. Four people who voted by affidavit tried to switch their addresses to Dr. Truly's home. Commission supposed to meet at 1:00 PM today.
The Canton Election Commission will meet at 10:00 AM today to finish counting votes and certifying the special election for Ward 2. The commission did not meet yesterday. The panel was supposed to meet yesterday at 1:00 PM, then postponed meeting until today. Don Bates, who was the only white candidate, is only two votes short (271 votes) of avoiding a runoff election . Edward Thompson has 102 votes and Mayor Truly's wife is third with 63 votes.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Canton....here........we go again.....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
19 comments:
Finally proof positive Canton has a bias problem?
### Metro Ad Valoreum Millage Rates (2010-2011) ###
Jackson = 58.03 mils
Canton = 57.03 mils
Edwards = 47.0 mils
Clinton = 38.74 mils
---> AVERAGE = 30.9 mils <---
Flora = 30.5 mils
Byram = 30 mils
Madison = 28.8 mils
Terry = 27.85 mils
Brandon = 23.0 mils
Pearl = 21.5 mils
Raymond = 21.17 mils
Florence = 20.9 mils
Ridgeland = 20.03 mils
Flowood = 20.0 mils
Richland = 19.0 mils
*excludes County & School District
2 gutta video, animal control officer,
Filet-O-Fish shootout, Nissan shakedown,
this "election"... Just another day
in the third world.
Are they saying WHY they won't certify it? Any word from the election commissioners?
One slight correction, KF. Bates currently has 272 votes out of a total of 5032 votes cast & counted. He is OVER 50% of the counted ballots. There are 45 affidavit ballots that were cast and IF all were counted, he would be two votes short of a clear majority.
But as it is, he is above the 50% now, and based on the outstanding affidavits, he will remain above 50%, thus avoiding a runoff. That, my friends, is "the bottom line". (Oh, my mistake, wrong city!)
Of the 45 affidavits that are yet to be disposed of, 8 were cast by individuals that are not registered to vote. Twenty six were cast by individuals that do not live in the Ward. Clearly these, along with four others, are not to be counted.
Bates has a majority no matter what the Election Commission does - all that needs to happen is for the two Commissioners that are avoiding the meetings to do their jobs.
Stay tuned - more to come tomorrow.
Sorry. Typo. Second sentence should read "272 out of a total of 502 votes counted".
Even if the White guy is certified, It will make no difference in Canton.
Memo to the "Harvey's Crossing" homeowners:
Ya'll are about to experience a multiple governmental annexation colonoscopy.
However, not to worry... Penn's still offers a $15.00 lunch plate with three very thin catfish strips.
@ 9:56 Thanks, I needed that. KF doesn't offer enough humor and you just landed two superb examples.
I will now bend over and wait for KanGOroot to weigh in and slap me around.
maybe eric holder will show up swinging his "hate whitey" club and save the day for duh mayors wife!
Didn't approve the last comment because this post has nothing to do with the national debt.
Everything about this story is dumbfounding to me. Its just so incredibly sad that this kind of stuff goes on. Thanks for covering and exposing this, KF. Please keep it up.
If the election commissioners wont do their job, does the candidate need to go straight to the sec of state and just say--help?
The Sec of State has done all they can do. Its gonna end up in court, probably today.
Can the election commissioners be removed from their posts for nonfeasance?
The SOS has done nothing, except he sent an 'observer' for part of the day last Wednesday. Granted, he doesn't have the authority to do anything, but that has never stopped Dilbert from pounding his chest and acting like the king.
Delbert, as a last option, can appear on Galleaux, at will, any day of the week. He has his own 'Director's Chair' in The Green Room.
The Secretary of State can do much more than 10:36 suggests.
Reading this and the other political stories posted, all I really see is the us/them political game that gets played...over and over and over and over.
Way past time for the public to stop choosing up sides in the game. Time to demand these folks actually BE public servants instead of public asses.
There are so FEW decisions in government where the facts don't overwhelming point to the best decision. Only the egomanics we elect get too caught up in the game to remember why they got elected. Some even believe the voters ONLY wanted " their side" to win and to hell with good government.
The cutting nose off to spite face never stops.
I agree with 12:39 in his/her belief that there shouldn't be a two party system in our representative government.
Only difference is, I believe there should be three, four, five or more parties.
Maybe 12:39 believes that all people think the facts overwhelmingLY point to the solution that he/she thinks is best. Jackwagon.
The SOS doesn't have enforcement authority over elections laws or procedures. He can offer an opinion about Canton from now until the Rapture, but he can't force anyone to do anything.
This is one of the reasons I've never understood why he sends "observers" out to polling places. I don't think they have any kind of standing to be there -- MS Code makes it clear that candidates and parties can have observers at polling places, and the Justice Department's enforcement authority gives them the right, too. But posting SOS employees all over the state makes about as much sense as placing blow-up dolls at every polling place, since the SOS observers really can't do a damned thing.
Our secretary of state, and Eric Clark before him, won't do anything about this kind of bs unless there is some chance it could affect him. Maybe if this gets enough publicity he'll be forced to act. This kind of stuff regularly happens in Delta counties, and complaints to the SOS always fall on deaf ears.
Post a Comment