Revote in three 150th District precincts scheduled for Jan. 8

KENNETT, Mo. -- Voters in three Dunklin County precincts will revote Jan. 8 to decide the 150th House District race between state Rep. Kent Hampton and Tom Todd, a former House member.

During a hearing in Dunklin County Circuit Court on Monday, Judge William Winchester III of Scott County ordered the Jan. 8 revote because some voters in the Campbell Rural, Campbell Ward 2 and Cotton Hill Rural precincts received incorrect ballots during the Nov. 6 general election.

Hampton defeated Todd by 116 votes, 5,953 to 5,837, for the 150th District seat, which includes most of Dunklin County and the southern part of Pemiscot County.

On Nov. 13, Dunklin County Clerk Carol Hinesly filed a petition for a new election in the entire district after determining some voters in the 150th District in the Campbell Rural and Ward 2 precincts received 152nd District ballots, and some voters in the 152nd District were given 150th District ballots.

The problem resulted from Dunklin County being split for the first time during the redistricting process and both precincts using the same polling place.

On Dec. 3, Winchester ordered a Dec. 18 revote in the Campbell Ward 2 and Campbell Rural precincts.

Hinesly then filed a motion for a new hearing because of "the discovery of new evidence" in the Cotton Hill Rural precinct. Her petition also included a request for a new election in the 150th District.

Todd's attempts to seek a new districtwide election have been denied by the Southern District Appeals Court and the Missouri Supreme Court, but his lawyer, Daren Todd of Malden, Mo., has decided to try again.

He filed a petition for a writ of prohibition in the Southern District Appeals Court on Tuesday in an attempt to keep the election in the three precincts from taking place Jan. 8.

Pertinent address:

Campbell, Mo.

Kennett, Mo.