The city registrar’s office has so far received 14 of the outstanding mail-in absentee ballots for the June 8 election, multiple city officials told The Dispatch this morning.
Those will not be “nearly enough” to alter the results of the mayor’s election, in which independent Keith Gaskin has a 40-vote lead over incumbent Robert Smith, a Democrat.
The resolution board will meet at 4:30 today at City Hall to process the absentee ballots and release the final vote tally, which could also include up to six affidavit ballots on hold. City Registrar Brenda Williams and the city council-appointed Municipal Election Committee will certify the vote following the final tally.
Williams said last week there were 53 outstanding mail-in ballots that could be sent to the city to be processed by today. To be processed, the ballots must have been postmarked by election day. Even if all 53 arrived and were accepted, Gaskin would only have to get seven of the votes to beat Smith.
Williams did not return calls from The Dispatch by press time today.
Smith served as Ward 1 councilman starting in 2001, and in 2006 was first elected mayor in a special election following the departure of former mayor Jeffrey Rupp.
Gaskin first moved to Columbus in 1987 and is the executive director of Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science Foundation. His career has consisted of leadership and fundraising roles for MSMS and institutions of higher learning, including Mississippi State University.
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