Hinds County supervisors move Clinton voting precinct to visitor center

A voting precinct in Clinton is moving down the road just in time for absentee voting ahead of the presidential, congressional and judicial elections this fall.

During a Monday meeting of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors in downtown Jackson, District 2 Election Commissioner Bobbie Graves asked supervisors to move a District 2 Clinton voting precinct at Fire Station 4 at 1973 Pinehaven Road.

Without much debate on the topic, supervisors voted to approve a move to the Clinton Visitor Center at 1300 Pinehaven Road, about 1.6 miles south of the previous location.

"We need to get the notifications started because (this precinct) is one of the largest ones in District 2… We just want to make sure not to wait till the last minute," Graves told the supervisors Monday.

Graves told the Clarion Ledger after the vote that the Clinton Fire Department actually requested the precinct be moved due to a safety and security concerns.

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Clinton Fire Chief Jeff Blackledge added the station also has very limited parking, and because precincts must be open for absentee voters before the election on Nov. 5, he wouldn't want to leave the station empty of staff when an emergency call sends them away as voters pull in to drop off ballots.

"If we get a call to an emergency, we have to leave and go on it, and we've got to have some way to secure the station," Blackledge said. "If I leave it open where just anybody can walk in, there's no telling what can happen. Not that anybody would go through and steal anything in there. I don't think that would happen but we just don't want to have that option out there."

Those with questions about the move can contact Graves via the Hinds County Election Commission website, or by calling the office at 601-968-6555.

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Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.