With the citizens of Mississippi County taking to the polls today to elect such a wide variety of officials, the possibility of a runoff election is quite high. A runoff is needed in any race in which there are three or more candidates and none receives a majority vote. A majority vote is 50 percent of total votes cast in the race, plus one more vote.
If a runoff election is necessary, it will follow the same format as the general election.
A period of early voting will begin on Tuesday, Nov. 16, and will end on Monday, Nov. 22. The Moore Center in Blytheville and single early-voting locations for other cities county-wide will be open from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. during that time. Runoff election day would be from 7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 23.
Early voting polls in Blytheville closed Monday evening with numbers higher than those of the mid-term election in 2006, with more than 3,500 registered voters casting an early ballot in the north end of the county. In 2006, 2,204 people cast early votes in Blytheville.
-- SHANNON SPEARS HARRIS/Courier News