Officials praise smooth election despite some voter confusion

Published 11:37 pm Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Overall, Tuesday’s Democratic Party Primary went smoothly, City Clerk Walter Osborne said.

The only problem, he said, was confusion by voters over where they were supposed to go vote.

“We had accusations that people were not allowed to vote at some precincts, but I straightened that out,” he said. “It was just a situation where they went to the wrong precinct and they were on the books at another precinct.

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“People were confused from the presidential elections,” Osborne said. “They thought they went to the same precinct they went to when they voted in the presidential election.”

He said voters were instructed to call the city clerk’s office if they had questions about voting “but most everyone went to where they were on the books to vote.”

Osborne added the Mississippi Secretary of State had a representative in Vicksburg who toured the precincts during the election.

About 15.4 percent of the city’s 12,502 registered voters turned out to cast ballots in three races — mayor, North Ward alderman and South Ward alderman. Two races were decided Tuesday, while a third will be decided in a runoff on April 27.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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