Mullins Council Schedules Sudden Vote on Election Change as Mayor Attends Family Funeral

Mullins City Hall — as a sudden special meeting is called ahead of a final vote on a controversial election change, set to take place at the Raymond Pridgen Auditorium. JavarJuarez©2026

MULLINS, S.C. — An unexpected and urgent development has escalated an already tense battle over voting rights in the city of Mullins.

A special called meeting of the Mullins City Council has been scheduled for Friday, April 24 at 3:00 p.m. at the Raymond Pridgen Auditorium, where council is set to take up the final reading of an ordinance tied to changing the city’s election timing.

The move comes with less than 24 hours’ notice and under circumstances that are raising serious concerns among residents and community leaders.

Official notice of a special Mullins City Council meeting scheduled for Friday, April 24, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. at the Raymond Pridgen Auditorium, where the final reading of a controversial ordinance tied to election timing is listed under old business.

Most notably, Mayor Miko Pickett will be out of town attending a family funeral, confirmed through her public statement regarding the services of a loved one.

Mayor Miko Pickett shares details of a family funeral she is attending out of state, as Mullins City Council schedules a special meeting during her absence to take up a final vote on a controversial election ordinance. Facebook

The timing of the meeting—coinciding directly with that funeral—has intensified scrutiny around the council’s actions and intent.

This follows days of heightened public engagement, including a mass meeting at Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church where residents, civil rights leaders, and National Action Network representatives warned that shifting elections from November to April could significantly reduce voter turnout and weaken democratic participation.

Mayor Miko Pickett stands with community and civil rights leadership following the mass meeting, including Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III, Rep. Terry Alexander, and National Action Network leaders, united in opposition to the proposed election change in Mullins. JavarJuarez©2026

At that gathering, speakers framed the proposed change not as administrative, but as part of a broader and deeply familiar pattern.

Now, with the final reading potentially being advanced under limited public notice and in the absence of the city’s mayor, the situation has taken on a new level of urgency.

Residents are being encouraged to attend the meeting if possible.

What happens Friday may determine not only the timing of elections in Mullins—but the level of public trust in how those decisions are made.