Three candidates for Hinds County Election Commission, including one incumbent, failed to meet the legal requirements to run in November. All three, including District 2 Election Commissioner Bobbie Graves, said they were unaware of those requirements and are asking Hinds County supervisors to let them stay on the ballot. But if supervisors do so, it could be illegal. After an hour-plus discussion Monday, a majority of supervisors failed to approve the candidacy of all vying for the five election commissioner slots, leaving their places on the ballot in limbo. “It’s the candidate’s responsibility to know” the procedure, District 4 Supervisor Phil Fisher said. “And if the election commissioners themselves don’t know when to hand something in, what does that say about their ability to do the job?”
Graves and a District 2 opponent, Blonda Mack, both failed to file required paperwork with the chancery clerk’s office by the deadline. And District 1 candidate Ineva Pittman didn’t get the 50 valid voter signatures required to be on the ballot. In question is whether supervisors can use their discretion to allow the three to run, despite state law that says candidates must submit qualifying papers to the chancery clerk by 5 p.m. no later than the first Monday in June. That law says if that requirement isn’t met, that person’s name “shall not be placed on the ballot.”
Full Article: Hinds Co. Election Commission candidates may not be on ballot | The Clarion-Ledger | clarionledger.com.