Nursing home residents cast ballots in Jackson City Election
[gtxvideo vid=”pjKfOHa8″ playlist=”” pid=”OTSe9U1y” thumb=”http://player.gtxcel.com/thumbs/pjKfOHa8.jpg” vtitle=”Nursing Home Voters – Mallory”]
EAST JACKSON — Voters cast some of the first ballots on Monday in Jackson‘s hotly contested mayoral election. This comes nine days before the start of early voting. “It feels good,” Jackson resident Betty Cole said. Cole is one of dozens of people at Mission Convalescent Home who cast ballots on Monday, 29 days before the upcoming Jackson municipal election. “I decided to vote because I want to get the right man,” she said. The Madison County Election Commission said state law requires workers go to licensed nursing homes and assisted living facilities to help voters. “When a person reaches this part of their life, most of the time they cannot travel, so it’s important that we go to them and allow them to participate in the process if they are able to,” Administrator of Elections Kim Buckley said. Monday marked the last day to register to vote in order to participate in this election. Buckley said they’ve received a more than usual number of postcard registrations. “I would say there is a heightened interest in this election compared to other city of Jackson elections, but overall not anything that is staggering,” she said. Buckley said workers must follow strict rules. “We always have one democrat and one republican working with these voters,” she said. Cole said she appreciates them coming to her. “I think everyone should vote, put out their rights, ‘cause if you don’t vote you shouldn’t say anything about who voted for who,” she said. Early voting begins April 15 and runs through April 30. Election day is May 5.
