Mississippi primary election day brings rain, first-time voters, reports of voting issues

Note: Election results were not available by deadline for print publication. See election results here.

Voters in Mississippi have made their voices heard, and now all that's left is for the results to be announced, a process that was expected to last well into Tuesday night.

Mississippi residents braved high temperatures and rain to cast ballots in primary races for statewide positions, including governor and lieutenant governor, as well as legislative and local races.

The first election day news actually came the night before, with two precinct changes in Hinds County. Precinct One, typically located at the Eudora Welty Library, was moved next door to the Old Capitol Inn due to accessibility issues for voters with disabilities. In Clinton, the precinct previously located at Sumner Hill Middle School was moved to the Clinton Fire Station.

As voting began Tuesday morning, rain clouds had formed across much of the northern and central portions of the state, but supporters continued to hold signs along major thoroughfares. Throughout the day, poll workers in Hinds, Madison, Rankin, Copiah and Forrest counties reported steady but low turnout, consistent with non-presidential primary elections.

At Trinity Baptist Church in Florence, first time voter Qadre Latiker, 18, said he was slightly nervous as he made his way to the polls. A graduate of Northwest Rankin High School, Latiker was voting alongside his mother, Latisha, who, as a present for his birthday and Easter earlier this year, gave him a voter registration sheet.

More: Hosemann defeats McDaniel in MS lt. gov. primary, then calls for campaign finance reform

"It was a little nerve-racking because there's a lot of names, but I did a little research on who I was voting for," Latiker said after voting.

For the Latikers, voting is a way of life, Latisha said.

"It's amazing because it was the first time with my son," Latisha said. "Voting is a lifestyle, it's a habit, it's who we are. So, voting is never not an option, but doing it with my son for the first time was one of the most amazing experiences."

There were also reports of voting issues Tuesday, from readers and from voting officials.

On Tuesday morning Clarion Ledger reader Joanna Greene described via email difficulty voting at the precinct located at Jackson Fire Station 26.

Greene said she only intended to cast a ballot for governor, but when she fed her paper ballot into the machine an error message popped up. She said she was instructed to complete the other sections of her ballot, but she only wanted to vote in the governor's race. Voters are not required to vote in every race on the ballot. Green said she was then told she could void her ballot and come back later, which she said she planned to do.

More: Hinds County legislative races: Two races called, one undecided, one headed to runoff

Shirley Harrison, of the Hinds County Circuit Clerk's office, said Tuesday afternoon that after she heard from Greene county election commissioners were sent to the precinct. Harrison said that the poll worker at the precinct is new and did not know that a voter can confirm they want to leave sections blank when the machine responds with the error message, and if they do so the vote will be counted.

"The commissioner went out to tell the workers what the process is," Harrison said. "The election commission did not do the training. The training is done by the Republican and the Democratic parties. This is a party election, not a county election. I don't know if she did not go to training, if she did not hear that in training, I don't know, but she has been retrained today."

Harrison emphasized that poll workers for primary elections are trained by the state's political parties, not by Hinds County election commissioners.

"I do apologize to the voters for the misunderstanding, but they were not trained by the Hinds County election commission," Harrison said.

A spokesperson for Secretary of State Michael Watson said that their office has been in communication with Hinds County throughout the day, and they were looking into the matter.

In its morning update, sent at 11:25 a.m. Tuesday, Watson's office said there had been a number of other issues that far on election day.

Power outages in Washington County caused by inclement weather rendered two machines temporarily unavailable, but power was restored at approximately 10 a.m. There were also delays in polling place openings in DeSoto and Lowndes counties, along with two locations in Hinds County. Precinct 526 in Madison County ran out of Republican ballots, and Precinct 36 in Leflore County ran out of Democratic ballots. Both were later replenished, according to the update.

There were also reports of campaigning within 150 feet of a polling place and of old voter identification materials containing a picture of the former secretary of state — Hosemann — at precincts in Rankin and Harrison counties.

The update said the secretary of state "has no enforcement authority over election-related issues," and that any reported violations of law would be reported to authorities, including the state's attorney general.

Candidates for the top positions were spread throughout the state Tuesday.

As polls closed at 7 p.m., the most watched race in the state was likely the Republican primary for lieutenant governor, where incumbent Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann faced a challenge from state Sen. Chris McDaniel. Hosemann prepared to watch election results with supporters from River Hills Club in Jackson, while McDaniel had an event planned at the Biloxi visitor center on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

In the governor's race, Democrat Brandon Presley faced no opposition but planned an event in Nettleton, where he lives and where his political career began as mayor. Incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who is the heavy favorite against two primary challengers, planned a party at the Old Capitol Inn in Jackson.

Charlie Drape and other members of the Clarion Ledger and Hattiesburg American staffs contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: See what happened on primary election day 2023 in Mississippi