NATCHEZ &045; Candidates who qualified to run for justice court judge and constable in the Southeastern District will now be listed on the ballot as running in the Northern or Southern districts, depending on where they live, Democratic officials have said.

And until early May, they still have the option to withdraw from the race, provided they send a letter to that effect to the local Democratic Executive Committee, state Democratic Chairman Rickey Cole said Thursday.

As of the 2000 Census, Adams County’s population dropped below 35,000, and under state law counties of fewer than 35,000 people can only have two justice court judges and two constables.

A bill that would have allowed the county to keep three districts &045; Northern, Southern and Southeastern &045; died in committee during the legislative session that ended Sunday.

But six candidates had already signed up to run for justice court judge in the Southeastern District, with four more candidates running for constable in that district. One judge candidate, Audrey Minor Bailey, has already said she will withdraw from the race.

That left the question of what would happen to the remaining Southeastern candidates, all of whom are Democrats.

Justice Court Judge Charlie Vess, who has filed to run for re-election in the Southern District, proposed to supervisors Monday the possibility of holding a requalifying period for Southeastern candidates.

&uot;If there are going to be only two districts, (Southeastern District) candidates should have the chance to requalify at no cost,&uot; Vess said Monday. He added that, given the option, some candidates might choose to switch parties or not run.

But Secretary of State’s Office spokesman David Blount said earlier this week that since qualifying dates are set by law, a requalifying period cannot legally be held.

However, the Adams County Democratic Executive Committee does not have to get its ballot information to election commissioners until early or mid-May, after which the Election Commission will order ballots.

That means there is still time for candidates to decide whether they still wish to run and to make sure everyone is listed in their correct district, Cole said.

&uot;If I understand this right, we’ll just throw people into the districts they are in now&uot; after the change to two districts, said local Democratic Executive Committee Secretary-Treasurer Beverly Merrill.

That’s a common-sense approach, and one that the state Democratic Party will support, Cole said. Still, he admitted that the whole situation is new to him.

&uot;We’ve had district lines change before, but rarely, in my experience, has a whole district disappeared,&uot; Cole said.