NATCHEZ — The Wilkinson County Democratic primary election controversy is set to play itself out in federal court.

The controversy began soon after the Aug. 7 election, in which incumbents Circuit Clerk Mon C. Allen, Sheriff Reginald Jackson and Second District Supervisor Richard Hollins were declared the winners.

The challengers to the incumbents — Lynn Delaney for circuit clerk, Jessie Stewart for Sheriff and Kirk Smith for district two supervisor — challenged the election results by alleging the elections were swayed by voter fraud in the paper ballots and even leveled charges of vote buying.

Delaney, Stewart and Smith were leading in the when the polls closed Aug. 7, but lost after the paper ballots — absentee, affidavit and curbside ballots — were counted.

On Sept. 6, 17 of the Wilkinson County Democratic Executive Committee’s 31 members voted to throw out the paper ballots in the election, changing the declared winners to Delaney, Stewart and Smith.

The Mississippi State Attorney General later wrote an opinion siding with the ballot toss, but Allen, Hollins and Jackson appealed decision.

In their appeals, the three incumbents alleged federal voting civil rights violations had been made in the paper ballot toss, and so the case was moved to federal court.

Until the allegations of federal violations were filed, a state-level contest of the election was set to be reviewed Monday.