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NATCHEZ — City of Natchez officials unanimously voted to further postpone the city’s municipal election cycle until June.

The decision came during a special-called meeting Thursday that was hosted via teleconference.

The dates for the election had originally been postponed from April 7 to May 12 for the primary elections but are now pushed back to June 2 for the primary, June 23 for the run-off (if needed) and July 14 for the general election with new officials being sworn in on July 24.

The newly scheduled dates are based of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation model — a resource cited by most health experts and the National Coronavirus Task Force — which projects the likely spread of the COVID-19 virus, officials said.

The model currently shows May 24 as being the first day that the state of Mississippi could be beyond the curve for infection with full social distancing protocols in place, whereas the primary election had initially been postponed until May 12, officials said.

 

This story will be updated for Sunday’s print edition of The Natchez Democrat.