Brookhaven residents will have the opportunity to vote July 8 on whether or not to levy a lodging tax to help promote local tourism.

City Clerk Michael Jinks said city voters who qualify to vote absentee can already come by his office and cast a ballot. The clerk’s office, located on the first floor of the Lincoln County-Brookhaven Government Complex in room 102, is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The office also will be open two Saturdays, on June 28 and July 5, from 8 a.m. to noon to accommodate absentee voting.

Voters who wish to vote absentee are required to fill out and sign an application stating the reason they cannot vote on election day. Acceptable reasons for voting absentee include military service, having to work during voting hours on Election Day or having to care for a sick relative outside the county on Election Day.

Jinks said that the voters also should bring a photo identification card with them when they cast their absentee ballot at the clerk’s office.

The ballot for the election contains a resolution stating, “The City of Brookhaven, Mississippi, proposes to levy a 2 percent tax on the gross proceeds of room rentals from hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts with six or more guest rooms. The revenue generated will be to promote tourism and parks and recreation within the City of Brookhaven, Mississippi.” Voters are asked to select one of two options: “for the tax” or “against the tax.”

City polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on June 8. The voting will be on paper ballots, which will be hand counted at each precinct and then brought to the city clerk’s office for tabulation.

To participate in the election, citizens must already be registered voters in the city, Jinks said.

The city voting precincts are:

Ward One: Cloverdale, located in the Cloverdale Apartments on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive

Ward Two: Alexander, Alexander Junior High School, 713 Beauregard St.

Ward Three: Lincoln County-Brookhaven Government Complex, South First Street

Ward Four: Brookhaven Elementary School, 300 S. Church St.

Ward Five: Brookhaven Recreation Department, 689 Old Highway 51 NE Ward Six: Mamie Martin School, 420 Vivian Merritt St.