Congressional race highlights ballots

By By William F. West / community editor
Oct. 31, 2002
The 3rd Congressional District race highlights the ballots in nearby counties, but local races are also expected to attract voter interest on Tuesday.
U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, a Republican, and U.S. Rep. Ronnie Shows, a Democrat, were pitted against each another after the state lost a U.S. House seat.
Bounds also cited interest in a race between District Attorney Ken Turner, of Philadelphia, and incumbent Circuit Court Judge Marcus Gordon, of Union. The winner will serve a circuit court district that includes Neshoba, Newton, Scott and Leake counties.
Bounds said Newton County has 13,646 registered voters. About 180 voters are casting absentee ballots and he said he's had to print more ballots to meet demand.
Neshoba County Circuit Clerk Patti Duncan Lee said voter interest is high in both the congressional race and the judge race.
Neshoba County has 16,844 registered voters, and Lee said she expects about 100 of them to vote absentee.
In Clarke County, Circuit Clerk Beth Doggett has had to remind a lot of voters they are now in the 4th Congressional District where the leading candidates are U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, a Democrat, and Karl Mertz, a Republican.
Doggett has 11,488 registered voters on her rolls; she said about 75 are voting absentee.
Meanwhile, state Republicans have asked Secretary of State Eric Clark to look into possible voting irregularities in Noxubee County, where they believe an extraordinary number of absentee ballots have already been cast.
State GOP chairman Jim Herring said 528 absentee ballots have been cast in a county of 10,256 registered voters with a typical total election turnout of 4,000-5,000 voters.