Photo Essay: A Tale of Two Madison County Voting Precincts in Black, Brown and White

The Mark’s property manager, Sidtaya Jones, said Madison County District 1 Commissioner Helen Carney had come by “one time months before and one time this week.” Carney had told Jones that they will probably have five voting machines at this precinct. I asked Jones if Carney had mentioned plans to expand parking. She said Carney did not mention a strategy to accommodate the recently rezoned 2,000-plus voters into the already cramped precinct.

The Mark's clubhouse will be used as an Election Day voting precinct for over 3,600 voters in Ridgeland, Miss., on Nov. 3, 2020, after the county moved more than 2,000 mostly Black and Latinx voters there with little or no notice.

The kitchen counter in The Mark’s clubhouse will most likely hold three of the five voting machines in the now much busier precinct in Madison County’s 1st District. The Mark’s leasing agent, Yannet Bouder, expressed concern about the high number of voters expected to cramp into such a tight space. “(District 1 Commissioner Helen Carney) said that we could maybe fit three voting machines here,” Bouder said, pointing to the kitchen counter. “And I guess the others can go over there?" She pointed to the opposite corner of the room.

As The Mark’s leasing agent Yannet Bouder showed me around the clubhouse where many voters are expected to wait to enter the small space to vote, she strategized on how to use the space efficiently: “They could use this back gate as the entrance. And then the voters could exit through the front door.” The single-room precinct at The Mark apartment complex has received almost no instructions from the Madison County Election commissioner’s office.

As The Mark’s leasing agent Yannet Bouder showed me around the clubhouse where many voters are expected to wait to enter the small space to vote, she strategized on how to use the space efficiently: “They could use this back gate as the entrance. And then the voters could exit through the front door.” The single-room precinct at The Mark apartment complex has received almost no instructions from the Madison County Election commissioner’s office.

The main entrance to the Mark precinct is on Lake Harbour Drive in northeast Ridgeland. There is another entryway at The Mark in addition to the one in this photo. The second entrance is entirely residential; voters would have to pass by many people’s homes, patios and cars to reach the precinct. I asked if Carney had mentioned if there’ll be a police presence. Jones said yes, but Carney gave her no further details about a plan of action. Carney mentioned to Jones that she'll be back to put up signs on Monday. (Carney had declined earlier to talk with the Mississippi Free Press.)

The Mississippi Free Press reported that 2000-plus voters were shifted from the Ridgeland Recreational Center overlooking the Ross Barnett Reservoir in Ridgeland, Miss., where they have long voted. The precinct in the much-larger facility will now serve less than half the number of now-majority white voters with double the number of voting machines (10) as The Mark apartments precinct.

The parking situation at the Ridgeland Recreational Center is a more than ideal space to accommodate voters. If the parking lot in front of the building fills to capacity, there is another parking lot of the same size located behind the recreational center that is within walking distance.

There is ample space at the Ridgeland Recreational Center for voters to practice social distancing inside the precinct. In case of bad weather, the facility also has plenty of covered space outside for everyone to wait in line to vote, including a screened in porch.