Noon Saturday is deadline for absentee voting for June 8 general election

Noon Saturday, June 5, is the deadline for voters to cast absentee ballots for the June 8 general election.

New Albany Municipal Clerk Frankie Roberts will be at City Hall from 8 a.m. until noon Saturday for the convenience of last-minute absentee voters.

You can qualify to cast an absentee ballot if you are 65 or older, will be out of town June 8, can claim a disability, or fit into one of several other categories that would prevent you from voting Election Day.

Absentee ballots can be requested and returned by mail but that obviously takes more time and it may be too late. They must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by the Municipal Clerk’s Office within five business days.

Regular voting will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 8, at the community center on Wilson Street. This is the same location where the party primaries were held instead of the county courthouse, which had been used in the past.

Voters are reminded to bring approved photo IDs in order to be allowed to participate.

City officials are urging people to vote early if they qualify because of fears that voter turnout will be very low June 8. Only about a third of registered voters participated in the April 6 party primaries and there is concern the number may be much lower Tuesday.

You probably will not have to wait at City Hall and voting will take less than five minutes.

The concern about a possible low voter turnout is based on the relatively low number of absentee ballots. Also, people may not vote because they consider races they are interested in settled, because they believe their candidates will win without them, because they will be on vacation or simply because they forget about it or are too busy Election Day.

A low turnout, of course, makes each vote more critical and as few as a dozen votes could swing a race. In one primary race here April 6, only four votes kept top candidates from going into a runoff.

Here’s are the candidates New Albany voters will have to make decisions concerning:

 All four wards:

Mayor

• James Dean (D)
• Tim Kent (R)

Chief of Police

• Chris Robertson (R)

Alderman-at-Large

• Keith Conlee (R)
• J. Lynn West (I)

Ward One only:

Ward One Alderman

• Ashley Kidd (R)
• Parks Smith (I)
• Jessica Winston (D)

Ward Two only

Ward Two Alderman

• Drew Horn (R)
• Tim Johnson (D)

Ward Three only:

Ward Three Alderman

• Kevin Dale White (D)

Ward Four only:

Ward Four Alderman

• Will Tucker (R)

Anyone with questions about the New Albany election may call Municipal Clerk Frankie Roberts at 662-534-1010 or go to City Hall.