JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The Latest on Mississippi elections (all times local):
9 p.m.
A Jackson City Council member has won the Democratic nomination for public service commissioner from Mississippi’s central district.
De’Keither Stamps defeated frequent candidate Dorothy “Dot” Benford in Tuesday’s runoff.
The 42-year-old Stamps wants commission staff to work with city and county governments and school districts to save energy and cut utility bills. The retired Marine says lower utility bills would give governments more money to spend elsewhere.
Stamps won 40% percent of the vote on Aug. 6, leading a four-way field, with Benford trailing at 33%. Stamps raised $53,000, while Benford raised less than $1,000.
Republican Brent Bailey, who beat Nic Lott in his party’s primary, will face Stamps in November’s general election. Incumbent Cecil Brown, a Democrat, is retiring after one term.
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7 p.m.
Polls are closing in Mississippi after voters cast ballots in Republican runoffs for governor and attorney general.
In the GOP governor’s runoff, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, who fell just short of a majority in the Aug. 6 primary, is trying to fend off former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. In the Nov. 5 general election, the Republican nominee will face Democratic nominee and Attorney General Jim Hood and two others.
In the Republican attorney general’s runoff, state Treasurer Lynn Fitch is trying to hold off longtime GOP figure Andy Taggart. The nominee will face Democrat Jennifer Riley Collins, a military veteran and former director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi.
Some Republicans also cast ballots for a transportation commissioner nominee, while some Democrats selected a public service commissioner nominee.
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6:45 p.m.
Another malfunctioning voting machine has been reported in a northeast Mississippi county.
The spokeswoman for the Mississippi secretary of state’s office, Anna Moak, says three votes were cast on a machine in Vardaman before a problem was reported and the machine was taken out of service.
At a precinct in Houlka, a problem was reported after nine votes were cast on a machine. However, a technician checked the machine and found it to be operating correctly
Earlier Tuesday, a machine in Lafayette County was reported to be switching votes from one candidate to another in the Republican primary. Moak says 19 votes were affected.
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1:18 p.m.
Some electronic poll books have been malfunctioning in Mississippi’s largest county on the day of party primary runoffs.
The spokeswoman for the Mississippi secretary of state’s office, Anna Moak, says the Democratic and Republican parties both made new poll books, on paper, for Tuesday’s runoffs. She says that in some precincts, the Republicans’ electronic poll books were not showing voter history - which primary a person voted in on Aug. 6.
People who voted in one party’s first primary three weeks ago are prohibited from voting in the other party’s runoff.
Moak says in places where electronic poll books were not showing voter history, poll workers were checking paper records.
Runoffs were determining the Republicans nominees for governor and attorney general and nominees for both parties in other races.
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11:35 a.m.
A circuit clerk in northern Mississippi’s Lafayette County says a technician was working to repair an electronic voting machine that malfunctioned.
Voter Ethan Peterson says he went to vote for Bill Waller Jr. in the Republican governor’s runoff Tuesday, and the electronic ballot was already marked for Tate Reeves. Peterson tells The Associated Press he tried several times to make the machine accept his Waller vote before he asked for help. He says he and a poll worker eventually figured out how to clear the Reeves vote so he could vote for Waller.
Circuit Clerk Baretta Mosley says all of Lafayette County’s electronic voting machines were functioning properly when they were tested Friday. She said the problem machine might have fallen out of calibration if it was handled roughly later.
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12:42 a.m.
Runoffs Tuesday will set the Nov. 5 general election fields in Mississippi for governor and attorney general as Republicans choose their nominees.
In the GOP race for governor, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves fell just short of a majority and his party’s nomination on Aug. 6. Former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr., who finished second on Aug. 6, seeks to upset Reeves, who’s long been seen as the favorite for the Republican nod.
In the attorney general’s runoff, state Treasurer Lynn Fitch is trying to hold off a challenge from longtime GOP figure Andy Taggart.
Some Republicans are voting for a transportation commissioner nominee, while some Democrats are selecting a public service commissioner nominee.
Voters are also deciding nominees in some state legislative and county races.
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