Oxford Abolishes Election Commission; Hands City Elections Over to Lafayette County Circuit Clerk’s Office

By Alyssa Schnugg

News editor

alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

Oxford municipal elections will no longer be handled by city staff and election commissioners.

On Tuesday, the Oxford Board of Aldermen voted to abolish the Municipal Election Commission and establish an agreement with the Lafayette County Circuit Clerk’s Office to have elected county commissioners to run all elections, including city elections.

The city election commissioners were appointed by the Board of Aldermen and only ran one election every four years and had limited training.

The Lafayette County election commissioners work 115 days a year, attend annual training conferences and hold elections about every year.

The Board of Aldermen found that the change would be beneficial to the city and its citizens.

Lafayette County Circuit Clerk Jeff Busby said allowing the county commissioner to run the municipal elections just makes sense.

“Oxford is growing so much,” Busby said. “With the growth and the city annexing so many more voters into the city, I think they needed our help. We deal with it every year and they only have to deal with it once every four years.”

Busby said his office taking over the city election shouldn’t change anything for voters who live inside the city limits.

“Everyone will still vote at the Oxford Conference Center,” he said.