The Pearl River Central School District has filed a complaint with the Election Commission and with the Pearl River County Circuit Clerk’s office, after having received evidence that poll workers in two separate precincts may have encouraged voters to vote against Tuesday’s bond issue.
According to a copy of the complaint, two witnesses came forward with complaints of a poll worker from the Millcreek, Beat 2 precinct who “actively encouraged voters to vote against the bond issue, and furthermore, volunteered a list of reasons why voters should vote against the issue.” A third witness alleged similar actions by a poll worker in the Carriere, Beat 5 precinct.
According to the complaint, Mississippi state law prohibits poll workers from attempting to influence, guide, or aid a voter’s decision in any way. The complaint also states that, “It is also fundamentally unfair and likely to influence the votes when a person in authority, such as a poll worker, instructs a voter on how to vote on an issue, literally while the voter is in the process of casting his vote.”
For more information, see the Sunday, Sept. 23, edition of the Picayune Item.