Qualifying opens Wednesday in this year’s race to represent District 2 on the Vicksburg Warren School District Board of Trustees.

Four-term incumbent trustee Zelmarine Murphy said Monday her mind won’t be made up quickly on whether she’ll seek a fifth six-year term. The general election is Nov. 6.

“I just haven’t decided yet,” Murphy said.

Murphy, 67, was first elected in 1988 and was unopposed the past two election cycles after opponents in each fell short of the minimum number of eligible signatures on qualifying petitions. In Mississippi, school board aspirants need 150 registered voters in a district to sign a petition.

The qualifying period is 30 days and ends Sept. 7, reflecting a change to state law in 2011 to shorten it from 60 days so the school board races could be on electronic ballot cards in the fall. The cards are sent to the counties by early October; elections in 2008 and 2010 were on paper ballots because of the anomaly. Minimum signature requirements remained the same.

Three other district-level races appear on November ballot. They include all five seats on the Warren County Election Commission and a position on the state Court of Appeals.

Three of five incumbents on the elections board face challenges.

In District 1, incumbent Petesy Smith and challenger Jan Whatley filed petitions. Smith, 67, a former county supervisor, won the seat without opposition in 2008. Whatley, 73, is a poll manager at Culkin precinct, the county’s largest voting division.

In District 4, incumbent John Rundell, 84, a former county purchasing agent, seeks a third term against Sara Carlson Dionne, 56, a poll worker in the district.

In District 5, incumbent Lonnie Wooley, 72, faces Gordon Cordes, 76, a retired engineer, and Robert Croisdale, 66, an auto parts supply contractor. Wooley was first elected in a 2009 special election.

District 2 Commissioner Retha Summers and District 3 Commissioner Elva Smith-Tolliver are unopposed.

The commission enrolls voters, assigns polling places, certifies non-party candidates, conducts all general and special elections and certifies results to the Secretary of State’s Office. Members of the panel are elected every four years during the presidential election cycle.

Incumbent appellate judge Ermea J. Russell has drawn one challenger, Vicksburg attorney Ceola James. The judgeship covers appellate District 2, Place 2.