Lafayette County has 31,576 registered voters as of July spread out between 18 voting precincts. The Election Commission is preparing each precinct for this year’s presidential election.
Of the 18 precincts, the five biggest are all in Oxford. All polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on Nov. 8. The Election Commission said they were all confident that the election will go smoothly.
“We’re planning to make it as smooth as possible,” said Max Hipp, Election Commissioner for District 2. “We try to plan for every potentiality. There are always little things that can happen, but we think we’ll have it covered.”
The Election Commissioners said that the Oxford 5 precinct’s polling location had caused confusion in the past. The address leads people to the Lafayette County Health Department; however, the polls are actually in the Lafayette County Extension Office, which is the building connected to the health department.
“They’re actually voting at the county extension office,” said Lola Pearson, Election Commissioner for District 3. “So, we put extra signs up down there.”
Each polling location will have volunteers to assist the process. Volunteers include poll workers, box carriers, bailiffs, affidavits, machine workers and student interns from the University of Mississippi.
Poll workers ensure that every person voting is registered. The box carriers are the facilitators for each polling location. Bailiffs are present to handle any altercations and keep campaigners away from the polls. The affidavits sort out any registration issues that may have occurred on Election Day. Machine workers help solve minor problems with the polling machines, and Don Smith, the polling machines’ technician, will fix any major concerns. The student interns serve as runners for any additional help that may be needed.
All of the volunteers have been trained. The next step in preparing for Election Day is Smith running diagnostic tests on each machine the week before.
“We have kinda done extra planning for this one because we know it’s going to be big,” Hipp said.
Map of Lafayette County’s precincts and polling locations:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1T546iz31FWIh8cQ2gEVfm5yJWwU&hl=en_US
| Precincts | Registered Voters as of July 2016 | Number of Poll Workers | Locations |
| Abbeville | 1,363 | 9 | Abbeville Town Hall, 8 Business 7 South, Abbeville, MS |
| Airport Grocery | 749 | 5 | Fire Station #3, 15 County Road 369, Oxford, MS 38655 |
| Anchor-Taylor 4 | 648 | 5 | Green’s Shop, 177 County Road 376, Water Valley, MS |
| Burgess | 530 | 5 | Oasis Church, 861 Highway 6 West, Oxford, MS |
| College Hill | 2,167 | 9 | College Hill Community Center, 10 County Road 130, Oxford, MS |
| Denmark-Laf Springs-Pine Bluff | 652 | 5 | Fire Station #11, 11 County Road 287 Oxford, MS |
| Harmontown | 624 | 6 | Fire Station #16, 823 County Road 313, Oxford, MS |
| Oxford 1 | 4,710 | 10 | Oxford Park Commission Office 310 South 15th Street, Oxford, MS |
| Oxford 2 | 6,458 | 20 | Oxford Conference Center 102 Ed Perry Blvd., Oxford, MS |
| Oxford 3 | 2,821 | 10 | Stone Recreation Center, 423 Washington Ave., Oxford, MS |
| Oxford 4 | 4,786 | 10 | Oxford Mall, 1111 West Jackson Ave., Oxford, MS |
| Oxford 5 | 3,103 | 8 | Lafayette County Health Department, 101 Center Ridge Drive (Hwy 7 S) Oxford, MS
Vote in Extension Office connected to Health Department |
| Paris | 345 | 4 | Fire Station #14, 31 County Road 430, Paris, MS |
| Philadelphia | 311 | 5 | Philadelphia Community Center, 1303 Highway 30 East, Etta, MS |
| Taylor 3 | 813 | 11 | Taylor Community Center, 78 County Road 338, Taylor, MS |
| Tula | 407 | 5 | Fire Station #6, 153 County Road 436, Oxford, MS |
| Union West 4 | 369 | 4 | Fire Station #16,
823 County Road 313, Oxford, MS 38655 |
| Yocona Community Center | 720 | 5 | 826 Highway 334, Oxford, MS |
John Cooper Lawton