Democrats Score Victory on Mississippi Ballot Placement

Democrats Score Victory on Mississippi Ballot Placement
By Rachel Kapochunas, CQ Staff


Following a state Supreme Court ruling Thursday, Republican Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi agreed to reverse his earlier action and move the Senate special election race close to the top of November’s ballot.

“The governor is going to comply with the ruling,” Barbour spokesman Pete Smith told CQ Politics. “The race will be near the top.”

The office of Republican Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann confirmed Thursday they are “working to comply” with today’s ruling.

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled Thursday on where the U.S. Senate special election is required by law to be placed on November’s ballot.

“We find that the special election for United States Senator must be listed in the first category of the ballot, along with all other national elections, and the law assumes the Governor and Secretary of State will follow the law,” Justice Jess H. Dickinson wrote in his ruling.

Republican Gov. Haley Barbour selected the ballot design Sept. 9 at a meeting of the Mississippi Election Commission, on which he and Hosemann make up a decisive majority over Democrat Jim Hood, the state’s Attorney General. Barbour placed the Senate race of Republican Sen. Roger Wicker and former Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove race near the bottom of the ballot. The special election is to fill the remainder of the term of Trent Lott, who resigned last year.

Instead of being listed next to the state’s other Senate election, Republican Sen. Thad Cochran ’s re-election race (on page 2 just after the presidential race), the special election is listed on page 7, between an uncontested contest for Court of Appeals Judge and an uncontested race for Circuit Court Judge.

Democrats argued Republicans chose to “bury” the Senate special election to benefit interim incumbent Wicker.

more...

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docid=news-000002955094

:shrug:

:shrug: