Mississippi Power’s storm team working in Florida able to vote

When Mississippi Power’s second storm team headed east to assist Gulf Power’s restoration efforts following Hurricane Michael, an important date was noted on the calendar: Nov. 6.

Election Day.

Would these travelling first responders be able to cast their votes in Mississippi’s Senate and Legislative races, and a host of other local races on the ballot?

Mississippi Power’s Legislative Affairs group worked to ensure they could.

“The Hero Act was passed in 2014 and it provides a path for Mississippi emergency workers, including utility crews, to vote via absentee ballot when called away suddenly on the eve of an election,” said Governmental and Community Affairs Manager Giff Ormes. “We reached out to Connie Ladner, the Harrison County circuit clerk, and she helped coordinate distributing the forms from our storm team to the appropriate county circuit clerks so they could be provided an electronic ballot from the correct county.”

Each potential voting member of the storm team filled out a form indicating they would be on assignment outside of Mississippi on election day. Ladner then emailed them a link to a secure ballot, so they could cast their votes.

Ladner, who has worked in the circuit clerk’s office for more than 30 years, contacted circuit clerks in Jackson, Clarke, Lauderdale and Forrest counties to ensure that each employee’s ballot was received and counted.

“We’ve helped military members vote absentee previously, but this was a new experience with first responders,” Ladner said. “This law helps the people that are responding to disasters all over the country, and we don’t want them to miss out on the opportunity to vote.”

Polls are open on Tuesday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), produces safe, reliable and environmentally responsible energy for more than 187,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. With nearly 160 megawatts of approved solar energy capacity, Mississippi Power is the largest partner in providing renewable energy in the state of Mississippi. Visit our website at mississippipower.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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