Election qualifying began Wednesday for a host of county and state races.
That includes all of the countywide positions like sheriff, chancery clerk, circuit clerk and tax assessor/collector, the Board of Supervisors, legislative positions and statewide offices like governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.
Qualifying ends at 5 p.m. March 1.
“If they are running as an independent, we need the signatures before the last minute at 5 p.m. We have to verify them,” Marion County Circuit Clerk Janette Nolan said. “We’ve also had a change in the way independent candidates file. They have to pay the qualifying fee. The qualifying fee for all of the races has increased to $100.”
Primary election day is set for Aug. 6 with runoffs scheduled for Aug. 27. The general election is set for Nov. 5.
Other local races on the ballot include district attorney, coroner, county prosecuting attorney, justice court judges and constables.
Nolan said qualifying packets may be picked up at her office or that individual forms are available of the Secretary of State’s website.
The primary elections require a qualifying statement of intent for a candidate for party nomination together with the applicable filing fee by the deadline. Candidates must also file a statement of economic interest and will receive information about campaign finance reporting requirements in their packets.
State law requires candidates to be registered voters in the district of the office they seek, and they generally cannot be felons.
Salaries for the positions are governed by Mississippi statutes, and several are based on other qualifiers such as population or tax valuation:
• The chancery and circuit clerks are limited to a maximum of $90,000 per year and are fee-based.
• Supervisors’ salaries are based on the county’s assessed valuation. In the past, Marion County salaries for the five supervisory districts were based on a valuation between $125 million and $300 million and are set at $40,400.
• Sheriff’s salaries are set by population with counties such as Marion, with populations of between 15,000 and 34,000 (Marion County was 27,088 in the 2010 census) at $80,000.
• For justice court judges, salaries are also based on population figures with Marion County falling in the 24,000-34,000 category for a salary of $32,789.
• Constables salaries are based on paper service percentages.
• State legislators receive a $23,500 salary plus a $144 per diem when in Jackson.
