Wednesday, October 3, 2012, 12:32 pm News Flash Archive

Leflore County Election Commission Chairman Edward Course has failed to print the absentee ballots as required by law by September 22, 2012.

Mississippi Election Code (23-15-213 and 23-15-649) requires the Chairman of the Commission, Edward Course, to print the ballots for the General Election. Absentee ballots must be printed no later than 45 days prior to the election. In addition, all ballots requested by permanently disabled voters and by military voters are to be mailed out on or before that same date.

Here is a link to the Secretary of State's 2012 Election Calendar which clearly states the September 22nd deadline: 2012 Elections Calendar

As of Tuesday at lunchtime, the Circuit Clerk's office confirmed that the absentee ballots have not yet been printed. This means that absentee voters, including those 65 years old or older, who are entitled to vote by absentee ballot in the clerk's office, are being denied the right to cast their vote at this time.

This follows the Clarion Ledger's report Tuesday of the Hinds County Election Commission Chairman's failure to print absentee ballots in that county by the deadline.

Edward Course was one of the election commission candidates for re-election who failed to obtain a certificate in a timely manner. In addition, he left his own name off the top of one of the pages of his own petition, invalidating those signatures.

John Pittman Hey
The Taxpayers Channel

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