At the Marion County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday morning, Circuit Clerk Janette Nolan appeared before the board to discuss plans for the Nov. 3 general election.
Nolan advised them that thanks to Mississippi House Bill 1789, two extra poll managers will be added to each precinct to help with the cleaning of the equipment for the election due to the coronavirus pandemic. The additional workers will be paid through a contingent fund with the state. The bill also allows for the poll commissioners to each receive an additional $50 for hazard pay for working during the pandemic.
Nolan also said House Bill 824 provided for hazard pay for the poll workers for $50 each. Poll workers will be paid $175 for the election.
There was also a federal match program Nolan said she could apply for that will pay 80% of the additional pay.
The election is expected to cost $30,000, Nolan said.
The Mississippi Secretary of State’s office is providing gloves, masks, face shields, hand sanitizers and other items to make sure all the voting precincts are cleaned and sanitized during the election.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has issued guidelines for the election in November. Nolan said they are already preparing to make sure everything is ready come election time.
Another change is how absentee votes will be counted. House bill 1521 says absentees votes will no longer be counted by the precincts but by the Resolution Board.
“That will speed up getting returns on election night,” Nolan said.
The absentee ballots will now be reviewed, rejected or accepted by the Resolution Board. Absentee ballots will be accepted up until five business days after the election with the ballot being postmarked no later than election day.
The Resolution Board will begin its work during the day of the general election processing the absentee ballots. The board will then return at 7 p.m. election night and will begin to tally the absentee ballots. Then five business days later the board will meet to count any additional ballots received after election day.
Nolan said there will be five members on the board. She recommended the pay for the board members to be between $175 and $200. The supervisors moved for $200 considering the resolution board members will have to work two days.
With some of the precincts being changed due to the virus, letters have been sent out to all the voters affected by the change. Nolan said more than 3,000 voters are involved with the changes in precinct locations.
Nolan requested in order to accommodate all of the absentee voters to come in and still follow the social distancing guidelines, to close off the north door of the courthouse and close the door facing Main Street to allow for the absentee voters to vote at a voting booth in the hallway area at the north door. Nolan said there is more than enough room for social distancing. Nolan said she would be able to hire part-time personnel to help with the voting and make sure each voting booth is cleaned and sanitized after each use.
The general election will be held Nov. 3.
