NATCHEZ — Seven elected officials submitted qualifying forms to run for re-election Tuesday.

Qualifying season started Tuesday and will close at 5 p.m. March 1, Circuit Clerk Eddie Walker said.

The names submitted Tuesday for ballot placement included incumbents only:

– Edward C “Eddie” Walker for circuit clerk;

– Charles R. “Chuck” Mayfield for Adams County sheriff;

– Charles L. “Charlie” Vess for Justice Court judge;

– James E. Lee for Adams County coroner;

– Charles Michael “Mike” Lazarus for District 1 supervisor;

– Reynolds L. Atkins for Adams County tax assessor; and

– Darryl V. Grennell for District 4 Supervisor.

Walker said the first primary election will be Aug. 2, the primary runoff election will be Aug. 23 and the general election is set for Nov. 8.

Walker said residents who want to qualify as a candidate for a county position can pick up a one-page qualifying form at the circuit clerk’s office or print a copy at the secretary of state’s website at www.sos.ms.gov from the elections tab.

The 2010 U.S. Census Bureau numbers for Mississippi should be available Feb. 7, and the data could cause district lines to be redrawn, Senate Elections Committee Chairman Terry Burton said in November.

New district lines could mean a slightly different electorate for each of the Adams County supervisors, Burton said.

New lines could also possibly reappoint the supervisors’ residences outside of districts they currently govern, Adams County Board of Supervisors President Darryl Grennell said.

Grennell said he does not know how elections would proceed in the event that a supervisor is drawn out of his or her district.

The supervisors will learn more about redistricting and its affect on this year’s elections at the midwinter conference next week in Jackson.

He said redistricting, which happens every 10 years, rarely occurs during an election year.

“This is kind of like a new animal for me,” Grennell said.

Chancery Clerk Tommy O’Beirne said state legislators voted to push back their own qualifying deadline to June to make room for redistricting. However, legislators left the decision to change the qualifying deadline in local elections in the hands of county boards of supervisors.

O’Beirne said the county will probably have elections before redistricting is complete. Redistricting will require at least two public hearings and the county must submit its new district lines and demographics to the justice department for approval.

O’Beirne said he thinks another election could possibly take place in 2012 if a citizen files a grievance against the outcome of this year’s election based on redistricting.

Redistricting will not affect countywide positions such as tax assessor, coroner and clerks, Grennell said.