Humboldt city elections slated this year

Humboldt’s city ward boundaries do not match the county districts. Know where you vote before you go to the poll this fall. Contact the Gibson County Election Commission at 855-7669.

In November, Humboldt voters will go to the polls to select the next mayor, five aldermen, and four of the five school board members.

Election Day in Humboldt will be November 7, 2017. Early voting runs October 18 through November 2 at the Gibson County Courthouse.

Incumbents whose seats are up for grabs are Humboldt Mayor Marvin Sikes; aldermen, Ward 1 – James Shivers, Ward 2 – Leon McNeal, Ward 3 – Don Graves, Ward 4 – Bob Pruett, and Ward 5 – Donna Johnson; school board members, Ward 1 – Terry Johnson, Ward 3 – Phillip Hardee, and Ward 5 – Chuck Samples.

School board member for Ward 4 will also be on the ballot. This is the seat formerly held by Lee Williams. When Williams resigned, the city board voted to have Wayne McLemore fill the vacant seat as an interim board member. According to state law, the interim position is only good until the next city election. Therefore, the Ward 4 school board election is to fulfill the remainder of Williams’ term for two years and will be up for election again in 2019 for it’s full 4-year term.

The first day candidates could pick up petitions was May 19. Candidates must get 25 signatures for residents within their ward who are registered voters. Qualifying deadline for candidates to be on the ballot is noon on August 17, 2017. If a candidate chooses to withdraw after he or she has qualified, they must do so by noon on August 24.

Citizens who want to vote in the November 7 election who are not currently registered must do so by October 10, 2017.

When the state mandated county precinct lines be redrawn for better representation for county, state and national elections, voting locations across the state were changed. For Humboldt citizens, it can be very confusing. No longer do the city ward numbers, the county precinct numbers and the polling location match up.

Citizens who vote at Precinct 6 (Church of Christ) will vote for candidates in Ward 3. Precinct 7 (Bailey Park), depending where the voter lives, will vote for Ward 2, 3 or 4. Precinct 8 (St. James) will vote for Ward 1, 2, 3 or 4, depending where they live. Precinct 9 (Lane Chapel), again, depending where they live, will vote for Ward 1, 2, 4 or 5. Precinct 10 (Humboldt Jr/Sr. High School) will vote for Ward 5. Some Humboldt voters will vote in Precinct 12 (Edison) and vote for Ward 1 or 5).

As of last week, there were 4,964 registered voters in Humboldt.

If you do not know which ward in which you live or which voting location you will use, contact the Gibson County Election Commission at 855-7669 for assistance.