Ferriday and Vidalia aldermen races will not be on the ballot in March.

Because neither town submitted a redistricting plan for the aldermen districts nor received approval from the U.S. Department of Justice, the races have been put on hold.

&uot;(The Vidalia and Ferriday) district races cannot be held until preclearance of those districts is (given) Š from the Justice Department,&uot; said Frances Sims, director of elections for the secretary of state’s office.

&uot;As soon as preclearance is done, we will automatically put them on the ballot&uot; for the next available election, Sims said.

The next state election cycle is set for Sept. 18 and Nov. 2.

According to Sims, the state must receive not only the redistricting plan the towns submit but also a letter from the Justice Department approving the plan five working days before qualifying starts.

The aldermen are supposed to submit their district plans every 10 years, after each census.

The plan has to be submitted to the state by the end of the year following the year the state population was reported to the president, Sims said.

The state reported the population to the president Dec. 31, 2000, so the aldermen district plans should have been submitted by Dec. 31, 2001, unless a separate deadline was granted.

Ferriday aldermen have been looking at redistricting plans for months and still have not agreed on one plan to send to the Department of Justice.

The aldermen in Ferriday are working on their plan since there have been population shifts since the 1970s.

Ferriday aldermen have been meeting with consultant Oliver Schultz separately this week to discuss how they would like to see the redistricting plan drawn.

Ferriday Alderman Sammy Davis Jr. said he wants the board to agree on a plan soon.

&uot;I would love that,&uot; Davis said. But, &uot;we want to make sure we have it absolutely correct.&uot;

Ferriday Alderman Jerome Harris said the board was inexperienced with redistricting and did not know the plan had to be submitted before the election.

&uot;I was prepared to go and register in the morning (Wednesday),&uot; Harris said. &uot;I am very sorry it was put off.

&uot;I just hate to see this happen. I don’t want anyone to think the board was putting it off. I would like to apologize to the people of Ferriday and anyone that was going to run for the positions.&uot;

Ferriday Mayor Glen McGlothin said he was surprised when he learned aldermen would be taken off the ballot. He did not think the election would be put off. &uot;We were making an effort to get it done,&uot; he said.

Schultz said in November both Vidalia and Ferriday needed to redistrict. Neither have done so since the 1970s, Schultz said.

&uot;How did the election go on in ’96 and they didn’t do it, how did the election go on in ’92 Š&uot; without redistricting plans, McGlothin asked.

McGlothin said the state never told the town the redistricting had to be done, and the state only contacted the town after aldermen had started drawing a new plan in November.

No one mentioned the redistricting needed to be done before, and no one had done it before, so town officials had no experience to draw from &045; the town simply had not redrawn the districts in almost 30 years.

Schultz said he called the Justice Department to get the old plans, but there are no records of them.

Although the towns were supposed to submit plans after each census, they have not.

Vidalia Alderwoman Maureen &uot;Mo&uot; Saunders said Tuesday she thought the district lines would stay the same.

&uot;I don’t see a problem with the way it is, but there may be something I do not see,&uot; Saunders said.

This does not mean the districts will change; it just means the town has to submit a plan based on the last census, taken in 2000.

&uot;Vidalia is pretty close to being in line,&uot; Schultz said.

Saunders said she did not know the town had to submit a plan before the elections and was &uot;surprised&uot; to find out just one day before qualifying.

&uot;I’m surprised they waited Š ’til now to tell us,&uot; Saunders said.

The last time redistricting was discussed, Saunders said, she was under the impression the districts would be left as they are now.

Ferriday Alderman Mitch Ashmore had no comment and Alderman Dorothy Johnson could not be reached before press time.

Vidalia Aldermen Jon Betts, Ricky Knapp, Vernon Stevens Jr. and Carter Warner and Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland could not be reached before press time.