Jones denies allegations of fraud.
Coahoma County Sheriff Charles Jones filed a response to candidate Mario Magsby’s lawsuit in circuit court contesting the Aug. 6 Democratic primary results.
Jones finished with 2,759 votes (50.8 percent), Magsby finished with 2,128 votes (39.2 percent) and the other candidate Stacy Lester had 544 votes (10 percent). Since Jones had 50-percent-plus-one-vote, a runoff was not scheduled. Magsby’s lawsuit is calling for either a runoff between him and Jones or a new election.
Since no other candidates ran for Sheriff, the Democratic nominee automatically wins the election.
Jones, who took office in 2009, is planning to move forward as Sheriff for the next four years.
“I have work to do,” Jones said. “We’re in the process of moving to our new facility in the next few weeks. I’m not going to let anyone distract me from getting the job done from what we need to do as the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Office serving the people. We’re moving forward. Like I said before, all I want to see is this community come together. We want to provide the best services we can do this community. I want to see the people of this community come together and unite for one common goal to make Coahoma County one of the best places to live in Mississippi. That’s what we want to do. We want to be a part of the solution.”
Magsby received Jones’ response on Tuesday and did not want to respond until he was able to read through it thoroughly.
Jones’ response acknowledges the city of Clarksdale held a $5 million public works bond election, which passed, in four precincts. However, he denies the bond referendum was conducted against the advice of the Mississippi Attorney General and Mississippi Secretary of State and further states the election did not create a confusing situation that caused illegal electioneering numbers.
Jones also denies the accusation stating the Coahoma County Democratic Party committee did not call a meeting and investigate matters.
Lula precinct
Jones’ response admits the voting machines were not working for a period of time, but denies improprieties.
It denies the voter touched the name of a candidate and the other candidate’s name appeared.
Lyon precinct
Jones’ response denies data cards would not stay in the electronic machines.
National Guard Armory (Precinct 4)
Jones’ response denies machines malfunctioned and Jones’ name replaced Magsby on votes. It also denies individuals would vote for Magsby and the x would go away on the screen.
It also denies Tawana Grace, a poll manager and bailiff for the city bond election, told individuals to vote for Jones.
The response further denies Jones’ campaign workers Merle Agnew and Michael Harris did not allow poll managers to set up in an area where candidate poll watchers could not see or hear voting activities. It also denied individuals could vote after the polls closed at 7 p.m. if they were not in line before 7 p.m.
Jonestown precinct
Jones’ response disputes citizens voted for Magsby and another name would appear on the machine and the machine would not accept the selection of Magsby. It also denies one of the poll managers wanted to vote for Rotosca Harris for tax assessor, but the machine selected another candidate.
Sasse Street fire station precinct
Jones’ response denied he had a sign posted outside of the door not more than 150 feet away from voting area. It also denies candidate poll watchers were told by a county poll manager they had to leave the premises while the polling place was being closed and the final vote tally was being conducted in private.
Lee Drive precinct
Jones’ response denies machines were malfunctioning, poll managers had to reset data cards multiple times and data cards were lost or misplaced. It denies voters would touch a name for a candidate and another name would appear on the screen causing individuals not to vote.
It further denies blank affidavit ballots were being distributed outside of the polling place and sealed affidavit ballots were reopened at polling places. It denies other related irregularities are described in the affidavit of poll watcher Evelyn Lucille Massey.
Chain of custody involving voting machine data cards
The response denies data cards were left in voting machines at Lee Drive and Friars Point precincts after the polls closed.
Sheriff’s improper conduct
The response denies deputy sheriff Tiffany Liddell transported voters to the Coahoma County Expo Center in a sheriff’s department vehicle. It denies Jones confronted one of Magsby’s poll watchers asking why she was supporting his opponent. It further denies Magsby was told by a sheriff’s deputy to remove a campaign banner from a fence. It denies a campaign worker of Magsby was confronted by Jones asking why she did not support him after all he did for Jonestown.
