Circuit Clerk Dustin Bairfield reminds local citizens that his office will be open this Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon to accommodate voter registration and absentee voting.

Although voters can register throughout the year, there is a 30-day deadline to register prior to an election; therefore, Saturday is the last day to register and still vote in the June 3 election.

Voters registering to vote in Lincoln County for the first time will need to bring a photo ID with them to verify their identity, Bairfield said. If they don’t have a photo ID, the circuit clerk will assist them in verifying their information through the Mississippi secretary of state’s office and obtaining a picture ID.

Citizens registering to vote also will be asked to fill out and sign a voter registration application, which includes a declaration of their citizenship and local residence. False registration is a felony offense.

Eligible military and overseas voters are given an extended registration period in Mississippi. The deadline for military and overseas voters to register to vote is May 24, 10 days prior to the election.

Voter registration applications submitted after Saturday will be processed by the circuit clerk, but the voter will not be eligible to cast a ballot in the June 3 primary election.

Mail-in voter registration forms are available at the Lincoln County circuit clerk’s office and website. Citizens also may also download an application from the secretary of state’s website at www.sos.ms.gov.

The clerk’s office, located on the second floor of the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Government Complex, is also open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to this Saturday morning, the office will be open two additional Saturdays, May 24 and May 31, from 8 a.m. until noon.

Bairfield also reminded voters that the June 3 Democratic primary and Republican primary for the U.S. Senate and Third Congressional District is the first election in the state to operate under the new voter ID law.

According the secretary of state’s office, the following photo identification cards are acceptable for voters to present at the polls on election day, June 3:

• A driver’s license

• A photo ID card issued by a branch, department or entity of the state of Mississippi

• A United States passport

• A government employee ID card

• A firearms license

• A student photo ID issued by an accredited Mississippi university, college or community/junior college

• A United States military ID

• A tribal photo ID

• Any other photo ID issued by any branch, department, agency or entity of the United States government or any state government

• A Mississippi voter ID card

Anyone who does not have a photo ID can obtain a Mississippi voter ID card through the circuit clerk’s office at no charge. Bairfield said since the new law was enacted, he has processed six such requests.

To get a voter ID card at the circuit clerk’s office, a voter will need to present one of the following types of documents:

• Any expired, but valid, document having the voter’s name and photograph issued by the U.S. government or any U.S. state.

• A birth certificate or any other document with the voter’s full legal name, date and place of birth.

• A Social Security card.

• A Medicare card.

• A Medicaid card.

• A Mississippi Voter Registration card.

• Documentation with a voter’s name and current address issued within the preceding six months.

Bairfield said that even if a registered voter gets to the polls June 3 and does not have a photo ID, he or she will still be allowed to vote an affidavit ballot June 3 and then contact the circuit clerk’s office within five business days to verify his or her identity.

For more information or assistance, voters may call the Lincoln County circuit clerk’s office at (601) 835-3435 or they may call 1-855-868-3745 or visit the Mississippi Voter ID website at www.MSVoterID.ms.gov.