MS Tied Election Down to One Voter's ID or Drawing Straws

Unless a lone affidavit voter shows up with a valid photo ID before next Tuesday, Glenn Bolin and Stephanie Bounds will draw straws to see who becomes Poplarville alderman.

In a special election runoff Tuesday, Bolin and Bounds each received 177 votes.  But one voter showed up at the polls without a photo ID, as now required by law in Mississippi, and voted affidavit.  That voter has five business days to bring in a valid ID, and could determine the election.

"My thinking is that person is not going to come in, because they don't want all the attention of being the one vote.  We were told last night that after five days, we'll draw straws.", Bolin said.

Bounds said, "It just proves to me that every vote counts ... That's what we've heard, we may be drawing straws.  It's strange, but I will support the outcome, whatever it is.  I'm all for history being made.  I will support Mr. Bolin, if he's determined to be the winner."

Mississippi law, like most other states, says a runoff tie "shall be determined by lot."  The Secretary of State's Office said the method of drawing of lots is determined by the local government or election boards.

Some past Mississippi elections have been determined by a coin toss, or by drawing straws.

Bolin and Bounds were among four candidates in a special election to fill a seat vacated by former Alderman Randy Brown, who resigned after the State Auditor determined he had a conflict of interest with his job with the Biloxi Police Department.

Bounds led the first round of voting on Aug. 26 with 137 votes, with Bolin receiving 106, but no candidate garnered more than 50 percent to prevent a runoff.

Bolin said the runoff turnout was paltry, considering there are more than 1,600 registered voters.

"People do not care any more, don't care enough to get out and vote," Bolin said.  "We had 177 votes to 177 votes, with one out there in limbo.  It looks like we'll be drawing straws.  This is crazy."










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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NC Voter ID Law Update

A split decision!

North Carolina's November election can be held under a new voting law approved by Republican lawmakers, a federal judge ruled Friday.  The law is considered one of the toughest in the nation and the groups challenging it say it will suppress minority voter turnout.

U.S. District Court Judge Thomas D. Schroeder denied a motion seeking to hold the November vote under old rules, saying the groups failed to show they would suffer "irreparable harm."  A coalition of groups, including the League of Women Voters and the NAACP, filed suit over more than two dozen changes approved by the GOP-controlled state legislature in 2013.

"In the absence of the clear showing for preliminary relief required by the law, it is inappropriate for a federal court to enjoin a state law passed by duly-elected representatives," wrote the judge.

In a weeklong hearing last month, they asked Schroeder to stop implementation of the new law until a trial to determine whether the changes violate the U.S. Constitution or the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Schroeder did deny a motion from the state seeking to have the case dismissed, setting the stage for a trial next year.

The law requires voters to present a government-issued photo ID, ends same-day registration, trims the period for early voting by a week and ends a popular high school civics program that encouraged students to register to vote in advance of their 18th birthdays.

"The judge could have completely tossed this case if he felt the state's argument had any weight," said Allison Riggs, an attorney representing the League of Women Voters of North Carolina.

The voter ID requirement included in the new law doesn't kick in until the next presidential election in 2016.  The law specifically bars elections officials from accepting college IDs, even from state-run universities.

In criticizing the refusal to halt the law's provisions, state NAACP president the Rev. William Barber said the people who have heard about the photo ID requirement and may not show up to vote "will suffer an irreparable harm."

"The court appears to have lost touch with the fears and rumors that pervade poor communities, and it ignores the long history of voter suppression tricks that take advantage of these fears and rumors," Barber said in a release.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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