From the AP:

Mississippians are voting Tuesday in party primaries for statewide, regional, legislative and county races.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. and were to close at 7 p.m.

Democrats’ only statewide contested primary is for governor. Republicans have contested statewide primaries for governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, agriculture commissioner and secretary of state.

In some counties, voter turnout will be driven by races for sheriff, supervisor, circuit clerk and chancery clerk.

If runoffs are needed, they’ll be Aug. 23. The general election is Nov. 8.

Mississippi’s top elections official, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, said a new law enacted this year could help ease the headache of long lines at precincts. It requires at least 75 percent of voting machines to be used in each election.

Previous state law didn’t specify what percentage of machines must be used in elections. During the 2010 congressional races, some counties put out too few machines, and voters in several precincts encountered long lines, Hosemann said. The new law came in response to that situation.

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