HINDS COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – Voters went to the polls on Tuesday to decide who would be the next Hinds County sheriff in a runoff race. There were concerns from election officials about low voter turnout.
“It’s very important to come out and vote and voice your opinion because you can’t argue about it later if you didn’t even try to vote,” said Stella Griffin, a voter.
Interim Hinds County Sheriff Marshand Crisler and Captain Tyree Jones are the candidates for sheriff, while Juan Cloy and Beverly Wade Green are the candidates for Hinds County constable, District 5.
Voters hope new leadership will help spark a change within the county, especially when it comes to crime.
“Hopefully, there will be collaboration between the departments, which will mean that our citizens are protected,” said Mary Neoums, a voter.
“Either doing the prisoners better or having a better jail system, and I think we need to have more people where the crimes are. I think the police and sheriff’s department do a good job, but they’re probably overworked,” said Johnny Sharp, a voter.
District 1 Election Commissioner Kidada Brown said turnout has been low. Some said many people feel like their votes don’t matter, so they don’t vote at all.
“I think people are really not voting because it’s no concern anymore. It really seems to a lot of folks that voting doesn’t do any good because the people that you vote in most of the time, a lot of them it seems like they are told what to do when they get there,” said Sharp.
“People seem to not take it as seriously as it should be taken,” said Griffin.
The polls will be open until 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
