Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NATCHEZ — Two Sixth District Circuit Court Judge candidates for a seat representing Adams, Amite and Wilkinson counties face off in a runoff election on Tuesday.

Carmen Brooks Drake led the Nov. 8 general election with 42 percent of votes, however, a candidate must have over 50 percent of votes to avoid a runoff.

In Adams County, Drake had 1,583 votes, Lydia Roberta Blackmon had 1,143 votes and Scott Pintard had 507 votes. In Wilkinson County, Drake had 983 votes, Blackmon had 860 votes and Pintard had 411. In Amite County, Blackmon had 612 votes, Drake had 202 votes and Pintard had 279 votes.

This week the Circuit Clerk’s office will be closed on Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving but will reopen Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon for the last day of absentee voting.

This will be the last and only chance to vote before polls open Tuesday for the runoff election, Circuit Clerk Eva Givens said.

“I encourage everyone to go out,” she said. “Voting is very important and this is an extremely important position.”

To vote on election day or absentee, voters must have a valid ID or driver’s license.

“Your license can be expired as long as it’s not past 10 years,” Givens said. “And we do offer curbside assistance.”

Givens said voters should enter through the Market Street side of the Adams County Courthouse. To receive curbside assistance, call the Circuit Clerk at 601-446-6326 when you arrive, she said.

During the general election on Nov. 8, only 44 percent of registered Adams County voters either voted in person at the polls or by absentee or mail-in ballot, Election Commissioner Larry Gardner said.

“I was way off on my guess. I thought at least 60 percent because there were so many candidates. People just aren’t voting like they used to.”

Givens said 726 people voted absentee in the general election.

However, because this is a runoff, only those who have the Post One Circuit Judge’s race on their ballot will be eligible to vote Tuesday. Those who are registered to vote and have Blackmon and Drake on their ballot may vote regardless of whether or not they voted on Nov. 8, Gardner said.

This includes all of the Courthouse, Bypass Fire, Maryland Heights, Northside, Carpenter, Pine Ridge, Foster Mound and Airport precincts and only part of the split precincts.

The split precincts include Bellmont, Beau Pre and Concord.

Only 308 of 1870 voters in Bellmont, 310 of 1,137 voters in Beau Pre and 17 of 758 voters in Concord may vote in this election, Gardner said.

Those who are not sure where they vote may visit www.sos.ms.gov/elections-voting/polling-place-locator. Once an address is keyed in, a sample ballot appears at the bottom of the page. Registered voters with Lydia Roberta Blackmon and Carmen Brooks Drake on their ballot may vote in the runoff election.