Some Lincoln Countians will select a representative for Educational District 3 Nov. 5, who will serve on the school district’s board of trustees.

Three candidates — Brown Forestry owner Perry Brown, counselor Barbara Buie and Navy veteran Brian D. Magee — are included on the general election ballot. A sample ballot is available on the county’s website, www.golincolnms.com. Search for “Circuit Clerk” then “Election Central.”

Candidate petitions for school board trustee were accepted from Aug. 7 until Sept. 6.

Absentee voting for the general election begins Monday, said Lincoln County Circuit Clerk Dustin Bairfield.

McGee, a technology professional, made history when he was appointed in October 2018, becoming the first-ever black representative to serve on the county school board.

He is serving the remaining year of the unexpired term of former board member Ricky Welch, who resigned Sept. 10, 2018. Welch’s term ends Jan. 7, 2020, following the 2019 general election.

Educational District 3 covers mostly the Bogue Chitto area. It is a six-year term. Members of the Lincoln County School Board receive $2,400 annually for their services and attend at least one called meeting each month.

Magee was chosen for the appointment from a group of six applicants that included Brown and Buie as well as artist and stay-at-home mother Stephanie Davis Holmes, Navy veteran and technology professional Brian Magee, retiree and substitute teacher Debbie Thompson and legal assistant Dallas Wallace.

At the time of Magee’s appointment on a 4-0 vote, the board included former District 1 Trustee Kay Coon, former District 2 Trustee Johnny Hart and former District 5 Trustee Joanna Posey. District 2 Trustee and former Board President Diane Gill is the only trustee who remains on the board.

Coon left the board when her term ended in January. Justin Laird, an information technology professional with the U.S. Coast Guard, took over the ED1 seat in an unopposed race.

Hart was defeated for the ED2 seat by retired Loyd Star coach Billy Vaughn — the current board president — and Posey lost to physical therapist Tim Cunningham.

Election commissioner to be chosen

A special election was also expected for the District 1 Election Commissioner spot Nov. 5, but since only one person expressed interest, it’s not required to include it on the ballot, Bairfield said.

Beverly Howard will serve as election commissioner until the current term ends in 2020, he said.

Howard had already been appointed to the seat, which became vacant earlier this year when James Tillman retired.

The state has chosen to stagger election commissioner seats, Bairfield said. In the 2020 general election, commissioners for districts 1, 3 and 4 will be elected to serve a four-year term and districts 2 and 4 will be elected to serve a three-year term.

According to the county’s website, the members of the election commission are responsible for conducting all general and special elections in Lincoln County. When contracted, the election commission assists the Republican and Democratic parties with the primary elections. The election commission is responsible for ensuring that all elections are conducted fairly, honestly and legally in all areas of the laws of Mississippi. They work as a team to ensure the voter rolls for Lincoln County are as clean as possible by removing those voters who have moved or passed away.

Commissioners must be qualified electors in Lincoln County and a resident of the supervisor district in which they are a candidate. Commissioners are mandatorily required to attend annual certification training conducted by the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office, to be certified to conduct elections.