What you need to know about the District 14 Chancery Judge race

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- One of the big local races this election season is the Chancery Court Judge race in District 14.

All 3 Chancery Judges are retiring meaning new judges will fill those seats.

However, not every candidate will be on everyone’s ballot and it’s causing a bit of confusion for some voters.

Current Chancellor, Judge Jim Davidson explains the reason and what voters need to do ahead of election day.

District 14 covers 6 counties including, the 3 Golden Triangle counties, plus Chickasaw, Noxubee and Webster.

Those counties are then divided into the sub districts, putting a dividing line through the counties. This makes our district a little unique because it’s a minority when it comes to districts divided like this.

A map showing those sub districts. The lines are little strange and were drawn up years ago by the legislature.

For example, 14-3 covers parts of Lowndes, Oktibbeha and Clay Counties.

Where you live will depend on who will be on your ballot.

If you live in Western Oktibbeha County, for example, only 5 of the 10 candidates will be on your ballot.

District 14 is one of the largest districts, covering a lot of ground and one of the few that has sub districts.

Judge Jim Davidson says this gives candidates a fair chance.

“These sub districts were setup to assure diversity and equality and they’ve done a good job. Therefore it’s designed that we will have everybody having a fair opportunity to serve. That’s why there setup like that. That is not the case all over the state. I can’t explain why, but it is in our 6 county area. I think it enables others to run, to participate in the election. It gives voters a lot more choice,” said Judge Jim Davidson.

Election day is a week away from Tuesday.

It’s important voters go to their Circuit Clerks Office or call to see what sub district they’re in so they can research the candidates on their ballot.

Even though there are sub districts and voters won’t have every candidate on the ballot, winners in those sub districts will cover the entire 14th district.

Something interesting to note, chancery races will be a big deal across the state.

About 20 Chancery Judges are retiring. This will the biggest turnover in modern history.

Circuit Clerks in our district say they’ve seen a number of absentee ballots already and tell WCBI they believe, this Chancery Judge race is the driving force this year for voters.