The Bolivar County Courts will soon be adopting and implementing the Mississippi Supreme Court’s Electronic Courts System (MEC).  This comprehensive case management system will allow courts in Bolivar County (County Court and Circuit Court of Cleveland and Rosedale) to offer electronic case filing and to maintain electronic case files via the internet; it is very similar to the Federal Courts’ case management system. 

The Bolivar County Courts have been operating under a “traditional” paper-based system since the mid-1800’s; with some limited electronic access added over the years. However, this new system (MEC) will allow for full electronic access for the court, court personnel, attorneys as well as the public.

“Judge Al Smith, Senior Circuit Judge, first initiated the plan to implement this system about a year ago.  The county supervisors along with the county’s IT department made some technological upgrades to both courthouses to make this plan work. Since I’ve been in office approximately 12 plus years ago, I heard about the system being implemented around the state and knew one day we would also implement it.  My courts, staff, local attorneys and I are all excited about this huge change for the courts even though we know it will be a process to get fully functional.”  — Marilyn Kelly, Bolivar County Circuit Clerk

Election Summary Report

Click on the file icon to view the information related to the candidates who have qualified to seek office in the 2019 Elections.

2019 Elections – Qualifying Candidates Information

Click on the file icon to download the official recapitulation of the General Runoff Election for 2018.

2018 General Election Runoff Recapitulation

The November 6th election will contain several races in which only a partial number of a precinct’s voters may participate.  Participation is determined based on the registered voter’s address.   If you have any questions regarding your participation in a specific race identified as a partial precinct race, please contact the Circuit Clerk’s office for your area. Cleveland residents can call (662) 843-2061, and Rosedale residents may dial (662) 759-6521.   Please note, the election commission will ensure that all voters receive the appropriate ballots for the elections.  Click on the file icon to see the specific races and precincts identified as partial precinct races.

Partial Precinct Races – General Election 2018

The Bolivar County Election Commission has released the General Election ballot scheduled for November 6, 2018.    Please take notice of the following important dates:

• Absentee Voting begins – September 24, 2018
• Deadline to register to vote in the Circuit Clerk’s office – October 6, 2018
• Deadline to receive voter registration applications via mail – October 9, 2018 (post-marked)
• Deadline to vote by absentee – November 3, 2018
• Deadline to receive absentee ballots via mail – November 5, 2018 (post-marked)
• ELECTION DAY – November 6, 2018
• Election Certification – November 7-9, 2018

For additional information regarding voter registration and voting, click ELECTIONS.

General Election Ballot

November 2018

It’s highly unusual for stand-alone elections to run concurrently; however, this will be the case for Bolivar County along with three other counties that comprise the House of Representatives for District Seat 30.

On May 8th, Bolivar, Quitman, Sunflower and Tallahatchie Counties participated in the Special Election for House Seat 30 where the two high-point candidates, Blake Ferretti and Tracey Rosebud, won the bid to be placed on the ballot in the May 29th Run-Off Special Election. In Bolivar County where the most voter participation was recorded, the voter turnout was
approximately 16%.

Aside from this Run-Off Special Election, the entire state of Mississippi will also gear up on June 5th (6 days later) for the Congressional Primaries where U.S. Senate and House of Representatives will be on the ballot. Voters should remember in these primaries they will be required to “declare” their party affiliation in order to obtain a ballot (Democrat or Republican).

With both elections being so close together, election officials, even though efforts are put forth to curtail issues, expect some confusion during the next few weeks. Voters are encouraged to start now in researching where they should be voting (Where Do I Vote?).  Though it’s too late to register or update your voting record, by going to the correct precinct, a provisional vote may be accepted.