NATCHEZ — Voters wishing to vote Democratic in the presidential primary today must also vote Democratic for the Congress and Senate races on the ballot.

But voting Democratic today does not mean voters will have to vote Democratic in November.

The Democratic primary in Mississippi has garnered national attention because candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are close in total delegate counts.

John McCain has a firm grasp on the Republican ticket.

Also on the ballot is the U.S. Congress seat vacated last year by Chip Pickering.

On the Republican ticket for Congress, Third Congressional District, are, James Broadwater, Gregg Harper, Gregory W. Hatcher, David Landrum, William “Bill” Marcy, Charlie Ross and John Rounsaville.

On the Democratic ticket for Congress are, Randy Eads and Joel L. Gill.

The only other race on the ballot is that of U.S. Senate. Thad Cochran is running unopposed as a Republican. Erik R. Fleming and Shawn O’Hara are competing for the Democratic nomination.

Adams County Elections Commissioner Larry Gardner said he was expecting a good turnout today.

“I think there’s a good possibility that there will be more turn out than we originally anticipated,” he said.

A very close Democratic primary has made things interesting, Gardner said.

In the last presidential primary, only 5 percent of the registered voters turned out, he said.

He’s expecting 10 percent or more today.

“Our vote really does count this time,” Gardner said.

Many Mississippians and political experts thought the presidential ticket would be decided by now, but Obama and Clinton have remained so close that it is not.

Polls open at 7 a.m. today and will close at 7 p.m.

Adams County has 20 precincts.

If someone is unsure of which precinct they should vote in, they can call the circuit clerk’s office at 601-446-6326 or the election commission office at 601-445-7905 to find out.

The precinct someone votes in is determined by a person’s address.

Voters must go to the correct precinct to vote.

“The importance of precincts is because that’s where your name is in the poll book,” Gardner said.

If someone can’t find their name listed in the book, they can still vote affidavit, which requires a paper vote, not the regular electronic vote.

Voters visiting their precincts today will first go to the Democratic and Republican party tables. At these tables will be sample ballots where the voter can determine in which party they want to vote.

The voter will then tell the poll worker which party they choose and be directed to a voting machine.