As citizens across Mississippi are gearing up for local elections just over a month away on Nov. 4, Lincoln Countians have nothing on a ballot.

The only office up for election at this general election would have been a county election commissioner, but the slot has been filled.

Jane James was the only person who qualified for the position of District 5 election commissioner. James replaced Marsha Warren, who resigned in September 2020, by special appointment from the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors.

Because Warren’s resignation took place so close to the November 2020 election, the position could not be included in that election. A special election was scheduled for November 2021.

However, because James was unopposed in qualifying, the special election was not needed, County Circuit Clerk Dustin Bairfield said.

“Where the Sec of State’s office is reminding people to register to vote by the October deadline, that is only for counties in which elections are needed. People here don’t have to worry about that,” Bairfield said.

Bairfield recommended to the Supervisors that the November election be called off since it was legally unnecessary, thereby saving the county thousands of dollars in election costs that could not produce any other result. The board agreed.

“Since she was the only one who qualified, a special election just wasn’t needed,” Bairfield said. “So the Board of Supervisors declared her the winner and dispensed with the election.”

James will serve the remainder of the four-year term to which Warren was elected in 2020. Other commissioners are Beverly Howard, District 1; Tiffany Furr, District 2; Ernie Clark, District 3; and Denise White, District 4.

Election commissioners are responsible for conducting all general and special elections in the county. They are to ensure that all elections are conducted fairly, honestly and legally in all areas of the law.

As a team, they work to ensure the voter rolls for Lincoln County are as clean as possible by removing voters who have either moved or died. Commissioners must be qualified electors in Lincoln County and residents of the district in which they run as candidates. They also undergo mandatory training through the Mississippi secretary of state’s office.