JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A special election has been set to fill the seat vacated recently by Angelique Lee.
Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday, October 1 to vote for a new Ward 2 councilmember. If needed, a runoff will be held on October 22.
The council approved the special election at a meeting on Monday.
The special election is set just days after Lee resigned as Ward 2 councilwoman and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery in federal court.
Under state statute, the council was required to meet to schedule an election within 10 days of Lee’s resignation. The election, in turn, had to be scheduled between 30 and 45 days from the date of that meeting.
[READ: More details emerge about bribery scheme involving former Jackson city councilwoman]
The council approved the motion unanimously after hearing from Municipal Clerk Angela Harris. She recommended having the election closer to the 45-day mark.
“That would give us 42 days,” she said. “Elections have to run on a Tuesday and from there, if [a runoff is needed it is] three weeks after that.”
Qualifying will begin at 8 a.m. on August 20. Candidates can pick up a qualifying packet at the Municipal Clerk’s Office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Harris said.
Because this is a special election, the race is non-partisan. To qualify individuals must receive 50 signatures from qualifying electors in the ward. Candidates must have lived in the ward for two years to qualify.
The deadline to submit signatures is 5 p.m. on September 11, “because, by statute, you have to have the qualifying period end 20 days before the special election,” Harris explained.
“We encourage them to get that in as soon as possible, so there won’t be as much work for the election commissioners,” the clerk said.
As for the cost of the election, Harris didn’t provide a number but said it would impact the Municipal Clerk’s budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
“As you already saw, the municipal budget for 2025 has already been set, so, most likely there will be an amendment needed to find some funds to put in to cover this election because it wasn’t anticipated,” she said. “We’re going to try to make this a very cost-saving election.”
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