Managing Editor

Registered voters in the City of Greenville will head to the polls on Tuesday, Aug. 22, to select a new mayor and five city council members, and interested candidates for those offices have only a few days left in which to qualify.

Greenville City Clerk Linda Vanden Bosch said city elections can be confusing because the voting districts are different than those of the county elections a few weeks ago. And, she said voters need to pay careful attention to the district in which they live to make sure they vote in the proper location.

"The city district lines have not changed since they were originally established, but if a person has moved in the last four years, or since the time they registered to vote, they need to visit the registrars office at the court house to have their address changed or they will be required to vote in their former district."

Vanden Bosch said in the past her office has tried to work with voters to change addresses when necessary. But, in an effort to avoid the confusion usually associated with that process, voters needing to change their address must do so at the county registrar's office this year.

"The registrar has already given us the names of all voters in the city who have registered as of May 31, and we will be working with them to add the names of those who have registered since that time," Vanden Bosch said.

She said a complete list of voters by district will appear in The Greenville Advocate on Aug. 16.

Vanden Bosch said voters in each district will visit polls in the usual location. District one polls will be at the Butler County Board of Education building, district two polls will be at City Hall, district three polls will be at the Court House Annex, district four polls will be at the old armory downtown, and district five polls will be at the new armory next to the fairgrounds.

Vanden Bosch said voters in each district will select one council member and their choice for mayor.

Candidates interested in these offices must qualify at the city clerk's office by 5 p.m., on July 18. Vanden Bosch said qualification is a simple process. Each candidate is required to have lived in the city for 90 days prior to qualification and pay a $50 qualification fee. Council candidates, she said, must live within the district they plan to represent. Candidacy is open to anyone age 18 or over who meets these qualifications.

The election, Vanden Bosch said, is non-partisan, meaning candidates will not identify themselves as affiliated with a political party, and that voters in each district will vote for their choice among the candidates for mayor, and for their choice among the candidates running for city council within each district.

Candidates are required to receive 50 percent or more of the votes to win the election out right. In the event no candidate receives the proper number of votes, a run-off election will be scheduled for Sept. 12.

As of this date, three candidates have qualified for mayor. These include area business men E.R. Gene Hudson and Randy Beeson, and the current city councilman for district three, Dexter McLendon.

Candidates qualifying for city council so far include James Lewis for district four, Otto Duke for district three and Jeddo Bell for district 5.

The city of Greenville currently has 5,227 registered voters which breaks down by district in the following manner: district one, 1,096; district two, 973; district three, 1,067; district four, 1,157 and district five, 934.