Union County election commissioners sworn in

New Albany, MS-

The five election commissioners for Union County took their oaths of office for a term of four years at the county courthouse, Tuesday morning, Dec. 10. They were sworn in by Circuit Clerk Phyllis Stanford.

Circuit Clerk Phyllis Stanford is shown with Graham Spencer, who retired from the Union County Election Commission. This photo was taken at a November 2016 event when Spencer was honored for his long service on the commission.

Wes Creighton took the oath as an election commissioner for the first time. He was elected in a November 2016 non-partisan election to replace Graham Spencer, who did not seek another term.  Mississippi county election commissioners are elected in the same years as U.S. presidential elections. Elections for most other county and state offices are held in the year before the presidential election.

Four incumbent election commissioners were sworn in for new terms. They were Wayne Wilhite, the commission chairman, Mike Beam, Barbara Reed and Bill Azlin.

County election commissioners in Mississippi work closely with the county circuit clerk, whose office does most of the administrative work for the commission.

County election commissioners signed their commissions after taking the oath. Sitting are Wayne Wilhite and Wes Creighton, the new member of the commission. Standing are Bill Azlin, Mike Beam, Barbara Reed, and Circuit Clerk Phyllis Stanford.

Duties of county election commissioners include:

• Purging voter rolls, that is, removing the names of people who have moved, died, been convicted of felonies or for any other reason cannot meet the qualifications for registered voters in the county.
• Training electing officials and poll workers for elections.
• Certifying whether candidates are eligible to serve in offices they may be seeking.
• Canvassing elections returns. Within ten days of an election the county election commissioners must review the voting records and certify as official the unofficial results received immediately after voting ends.