To the Editor:
Today, as I write these 500 words, something vital is happening in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi Northern Division. A lawsuit is being heard. The lawsuit is to end the gubernatorial law from 1890 that states a candidate must win a majority of the popular vote and a majority of the 122 House districts to be governor. Should neither candidate get both the House districts and popular vote, the House is allowed to decide who will be the governor. One person one vote is not how Mississippi does things it seems.
Now before you point to the law being from 1890 and the Voting Rights Act, gutted in 2013, being in 1965, remember black men had the right to vote by 1870. The period between 1870 and 1890 was actually progressive for USA. However, seeing black people, who were slaves less than 30 years prior, gain stability was too much for white southerners still harboring hate. They set about a way to codify, once again, the oppression of black people. This gubernatorial law is but one example. The outright killing of black people just for registering to vote was another way prior to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
I vote every election for I am aware of how valuable my vote really is. People were murdered to keep me from voting. People were willing to violate the Constitution, 14th and 15th amendments, to discount the black vote. Even today, as I write these words, we have not only this 1890s law still applicable to our elections in Mississippi, we also have gerrymandering.
In our wonderful and beloved small county of less than 20,000 people as of 2017, we have some very interesting lines. In Attala County, two precincts have two different ballots, one has three different ballots, and one has four different ballots. Something is not right in the manner our lines have been drawn. What would the purpose be for drawing the lines in such a manner? Whose vote is being nullified?
This year the general election is November 5. You may vote via absentee ballot in person Monday through Friday until November 1. On Saturdays October 26 and November 2, you may vote in person via absentee ballot from 8 a.m. to noon.
Given all of the games we know have been played with voting make sure your vote counts and can be audited. Use the in-person absentee voting option. Otherwise, make plans to vote November 5.
We draw lines in 2021. We need to have elected officials willing to abide by the Constitution of the USA, not those who seek to nullify votes.
Sue Harmon
Attala County
