By Josh Mitchell
Corinth Today News Editor
The small voter turnout in the last presidential primary four years ago was “sad,” Alcorn County Circuit Clerk Joe Caldwell said Wednesday.
In the 2012 primary only about 3,600 people voted out of the 23,660 registered voters, records show.
In less than a month, Alcorn County voters will once again go to the ballot box for a presidential primary election.
“In November, we will have a huge turnout, but for some reason they don’t vote in the primary, and it’s very important,” said Crystal Starling, Alcorn County deputy circuit clerk and office manager.
Preparations for the March 8 primary are going well, but it is a busy time, Starling said.
“No matter the voter turnout or the size of the ballot there’s just as much work that goes into an election,” Starling said. “No matter if it’s a big one or a small one we have to program all the machines, we have to print all the ballots and do all of that.”
The deadline to register for the March 8 primary has passed, and there are 24,308 active registered voters in Alcorn County.
A stack of absentee and affidavit ballots arrived in the circuit clerk’s office this week, and poll worker training starts next week.
The cost of the primary in Alcorn County is expected to be approximately $30,000, officials say. The election will be funded by the county, which also gets some money from the state, Caldwell noted.
The March 8 primary will not only feature a host of Democrat and Republican presidential candidates to choose from but also candidates for the First District congressional seat.
Costs associated with an election include expenses such as compensating the poll workers, paying for polling facilities and printing ballots, said Starling. Some of the polling facilities don’t charge the county, she noted.
The Democrat and Republican parties will each have about six to seven poll workers at each of the 17 precincts, she said.
The poll workers are paid slightly more than $100, and some get a little more compensation if they take on additional duties. Poll workers play an important role overseeing the election, Starling noted.
“Technically they hold all the power at the precinct,” she said.
People who do not vote by special means, such as absentee, will vote on a touch-screen voting machine, Starling said. She expects about 90 of the machines will be used for the March 8 primary, but there are more machines available.
“This (election) I just don’t think that we’re going to have the voter turnout that would require us to take all of the machines out,” Starling said. “Now, in November (general election) we will probably use all of ours.”
Electronic poll books used at voting precincts save the county money on elections by cutting down on printing costs, Starling said. Now poll workers look up voters’ names in a computer instead of a big book, she said. Alcorn County was the first county in the state to use the electronic poll books, she added. At the polls, voters must present an acceptable form of photo ID.
At the primary election, voters have to decide if they want a Democrat or Republican ballot. That means they can’t vote for a Democrat in one race and a Republican in another in the primary election. However, in the general election they can vote for a Democrat in one race and a Republican in another.
Absentee voting for the March 8 primary is underway, and the circuit clerk’s office will be open on Saturday Feb. 27 and March 5 from 8 a.m. to noon for absentee voting. Absentee voting is open for various voters such as for people over 65, the disabled, military and for people who will be out of town the day of the election.
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