Special judge appointed in District 4 election contest

Retired Copiah County Judge Lamar Pickard will hear the District 4 election challenge by Republican Jim Harreld.

Harreld filed a challenge last Monday contesting the Nov. 5 election results, alleging there were improper votes throughout several of the 16 precincts.

Certified results show Harreld lost to Democrat Karl Banks by 57 votes.

The petition argues a litany of issues surrounding the election, from poll workers providing improper ballots in split precincts to illegal absentee ballots being counted.

Harreld is asking the court to overturn the election and order a special election.

Banks was the longtime supervisor representing District 4 before he lost by two votes in 2015 to Republican challenger David Bishop. Bishop was defeated this year by Harreld in the Republican primary.

Pickard served on the bench for 24 years before being defeated in November 2018 in the general election.