Madison County has record turnout
Evan Bauer of Gluckstadt likened his experience voting on Tuesday to attending the Egg Bowl.
“I waited in line for three hours to vote when normally in the past it took me 10 minutes,” he said. “It felt like an even more crowded college game day on the campus of Ole Miss or Mississippi State.”
Bauer voted at Fairview Church near Deerfield. Long lines were also documented at polling precincts throughout the county, especially early in the morning.
Spence Flatgard, attorney for the Madison County Election Commission, said many precincts had dozens of people in line before doors opened at 7 a.m.
“We’re thrilled with the voter turnout and that made for long lines,” he said. “The poll managers and poll workers were superstars. They handled it beautifully and the voters were very patient. Those two things make for a great election day.”
Flatgard said there were no major issues reported at all in the county, from downed scanners to running out of ballots.
“All the stuff that could go wrong didn’t,” he said.
Madison County voters turned out in droves Tuesday, with waiting times at precincts in Gluckstadt eclipsing two hours at times in what turned out to be record turnout throughout the county.
Turnout in Madison County was over 10 percent greater than the 2016 general election. In 2016, approximately 48,500 votes were cast here. On Tuesday, 46,097 votes were cast at the polls, with another 10,000-plus absentee ballots filed previously. Those had yet to be counted in the numbers as of Wednesday morning. Also not counted yet were a number of affidavit and provisional ballots.
According to the Madison County Circuit Clerk’s Office, there are 75,511 registered voters in Madison County.
President Donald J. Trump won convincingly here, with 57.14 percent of the Election Day vote, en route to an easy victory in Mississippi with nearly 60 percent of the vote. Biden received 18,931 votes on election day in Madison County.
Republican U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith cruised to an easy re-election bid for her first full term, defeating Mike Espy with approximately 55 percent of the vote in Madison County and statewide.
Republican U.S. Rep. Michael Guest also won his re-election bid with 65 percent of the vote against Democrat Dorothy “Dot” Benford.
State Supreme Court Justice Kenny Griffis carried Madison County with 61.28 percent of the votes, but as of Wednesday the race was still close to call. The district encompasses 22 counties in the state. He had a 52.7 percent lead over challenger Latrice Westbrooks with 94 percent of votes reported.
Republican Helen Carney won a full term for District 1 Election Commissioner, besting Democrat Carol Mann with 62 percent of the vote. There appears to be a runoff for District 2 Election Commissioner between Republican Lauren Seyler Payne (48.15 percent) and Republican Teresa Sanders Speaks (27.04 percent). Independent candidate Vicky Slater finished third with 24.54 percent. Republican District 3 Election Commissioner Pat Truesdale easily won reelection, defeating Democrat challenger Sacia T. Dear with 66 percent of the vote. Republican Dan Dickinson ousted longtime Democratic District 4 Election Commissioner Azzie Jackson Adams with 53.46 percent of the vote.
Madison County voters joined voters across the state in overwhelming support of Initiative 65, a ballot measure to legalize medical marijuana. In Madison County, 63.37 percent were in favor, with 66.47 percent voting specifically for the 65 and not the legislative alternative 65A. Statewide, 67.9 percent of voters were in favor of either, with an overwhelming 74.1 percent in favor of 65A.
Madison County voters also joined statewide voters in favor of ending a Jim Crow era policy impacting statewide elections and for a new flag. Locally, 81 percent voted in favor of eliminating a requirement for state legislative district to appoint a statewide candidate in the event they did not receive a majority vote, and 83.6 percent voted in favor of adopting a new flag. Statewide, 71.6 percent voted for the new flag.
Nationwide, all eyes were on a handful of states to determine if President Trump would be re-elected or if Democrat challenger Joe Biden would take the White House. As of Wednesday at noon, Biden held slight leads in Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona, which if won would give him the 270 electoral votes needed to secure the presidency. Results were also too close to call in Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina.
Trump won two big battleground states — Ohio and Florida — handily.