Lamar County Circuit Clerk Martin Hankins and his staff have been pretty busy since the Courthouse doors opened Monday, Sept. 21. Absentee ballot voting began that day in Purvis.
After the first three days of absentee balloting, Hankins concluded that the health problems with the worldwide pandemic has added some activity to the November General Election.
“What we've seen Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we would typically see middle to late October before the election,” he said. “So we're probably 30 days ahead of schedule.”
With the expected increase in mail-in absentee ballots, Hankins said that procedure may get more activity this year.
“I don't know if it will slow up or not, but I know the first 2.5 days have been busy,” he said. “We thought we would be busier with the way the laws have changed this year in regards to absentee ballots and due to the current pandemic and COVID-19. So, that allows people to come here and vote absentee.”
Hankins said the staff at the Courthouse is working hard to help county voters.
“We're open 8 to 5 and we stay open through lunch,” he said. “So, we kind of had to adjust our schedules to meet the needs of everybody and make sure we give them an opportunity to vote. But, that's fine; that's what we're here for and we want to make sure everybody has their right to be heard in the election.”
Voting in the presidential election in 2020 is especially crucial, Hankins said.
“I think you, and every American right now, knows the importance of this election,” he said. “I think that directly correlates with the reason we're seeing higher than normal absentees for the first 2.5 days. It's probably going to correlate to it for the next 42 days right up to the last minute.
Absentee ballots are available to anyone who is at least 65 years old, anybody who is temporary or physically disabled, or anyone who is going to be outside the county on Election Day.
“They can come to our office and vote absentee all the way until Oct. 31st,” Hankins said. “Or if they have any questions, they can call us, and we'll help with the system and getting them a vote.”
Although the absentee ballot is not the usual procedure for most voters, Hankins said precincts will be ready for Election Day.
“We want to encourage people to go vote at the voting precinct on Election Day and let them know that voting precincts are going to be open,” he said. “They're going to be clean. They're going to be sterile and we're going to do everything to ensure that.”
Other procedures like absentee ballots and mail-in ballots are also available.
“If they choose not to go to the precinct and they meet the statutory absentee requirements, they can come to our office and vote by absentee ballot,” Hankins said. “With the law now, if we do have people who get a mailed absentee ballot, if they are over 65 years of age or they’re temporarily or physically disabled, or they’re residing outside of the county – for example, a college student at their college or somebody who's working outside of the state, but they're registered to vote here for temporary work – we can mail them about it.”
The time involved in filling out the mail-in ballot and returning it through the U.S. Postal Service could take a few days after the election.
“In that situation, as long as that ballot is postmarked on or before Nov. 3, we can wait five days after the election and that ballot will count,” Hankins said. “So all absentees that we received before Election Day will be counted on that night here at the Courthouse. But any that are received after Election Day up to five days – as long as they were postmarked on or before Election Day – can still be counted. So you could have a possible increase in some absentee ballots after the election on the fifth day after the election.
“That's kind of a grace period to help them get that mailed to us,” Hankins said. “And as long as we receive it by that fifth day, that ballot counts.”
In addition to being open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for voting activity, the Lamar County Circuit Courthouse will be open Oct. 3 and Oct. 24 from 8 a.m. to noon and Oct. 31 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.