Video: Local Election Voter Turnout

COLUMBUS, Miss.(WCBI)—Cities in the Golden Triangle gear up for local elections in less than one week and if you have ever watched an election unfold, you know how important each vote is to the candidate.

On May 2nd, Mississippi residents will head to the polls to cast their votes for; mayors, aldermen, or city councilmen.

“For my town, it’s important for the community to have the things that they need like nice roads and thinks like that,”registered voter Kathy Bush.

According to a survey conducted by Heavy.com, more than 231 million Americans are eligible to vote. Significantly less than that is reflected in the local election. According to Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann the local level is where it all begins.

“If you’re concerned about fire protection, If you’re police protection, If you are concerned about you’re streets, If you are concerned about you’re garbage being picked up, I mean you need to go vote in municipal elections. That is where the rubber meets the road. All politics are local and local politics determines all of those things,”said Hosemann.

Hosemann says to make anything meaningful happen in your own community, the local elections are vital.

“I know that they are concerned that the state creates taxation but so do the local municipalities. They set the ad valorem tax, takes all those other things the board of supervisors do. Local elections should be the most important because they are directly reflect your day to day life,”said Hosemann.

Carolyn Kaye is a Columbus resident and she says she votes because it gives her a say in the decisions made in the city.

” There are a lot of things that people have a problem with in Columbus. I personally don’t have a problem but still everybody should come out and vote,” said Kaye.

Absentee ballots make up five percent of most elections. Hosemann says getting citizens to vote that way is getting challenging.

“We are unfortunately seeing less people absentee vote then we should. We checked Jackson only 211 had cast an absentee ballot out of probably 60 thousand that are eligible. So we are hopping that turnout will be better,”said Hosemann.

If making your voice heard isn’t enough.

“Think about the totality of what’s going on here. It’s a free and fair election. We don’t have to put our finger in purple ink and all that kind of stuff. It’s a hallmark of the way we run our republican and the way we run our democratic government, so you need to cast your ballot,”said Hosemann.

The polls will be open from 7 AM to 7 PM on election day.

Categories: Local News

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