Politics Blog

Secretary Hosemann on Request to Hand Over Mississippi Voter Info: ‘They Can Go Jump in the Gulf’

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One of President Donald Trump’s campaign promises included looking into what he believed was widespread voter fraud in the 2016 presidential election (despite reports that there were fewer than 10 instances of voter fraud nationwide). After signing an executive order, Trump created the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. The commission made headlines today, when a June 28 letter to the Alabama Secretary of State surfaced. The letter, signed by Kris Kobach (the Kansas Secretary of State), who is the vice-chairman of the bi-partisan commission, asks secretaries of state to disclose a lot of personal information about their voters including:

“…(T)he full first and last names of all registrants, middle names or initials if available, addresses, dates of birth, political party (if recorded in your state), last four digits of social security number if available, voter history (elections voted in) from 2006 onward, active/inactive status, cancelled status, information regarding any felony convictions, information regarding voter registration in another state, information regarding military status, and overseas citizen information.” Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann released a statement saying he had not received any correspondence or letter directly from the commission, but had seen the copy of the letter addressed to another secretary. Continue Reading

Politics Blog

Democratic Representative Retires; Special Election Necessary for District 38

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Rep. Tyrone Ellis, D-Starkville, announced his retirement today, after serving in the Mississippi House of Representatives for 38 years. Ellis began his term representing his Starkville-based district in 1980. He is a member of the MS Legislative Black Caucus. “I have truly considered myself blessed and privileged to have served the citizens of District 38, as well as the citizens of Mississippi as a whole over the years,” Ellis said in a press release. “However, the time has come to close this chapter of my life and allow God to utilize me in another capacity.”

The Democratic leadership in the House chose Ellis to serve as the first Majority Leader of the Mississippi House of Representatives back in 2008. Continue Reading

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Gov. Bryant Seeks Donations for ‘Trump Strong’ Mississippi

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In the midst of the GOP-dominated political atmosphere at both the national and state levels, Republicans are back in the driver’s seat, pushing policies to roll back the Affordable Care Act’s reforms as well as cut taxes. The party’s success nationally and in the state signal the GOP’s popularity amongst some parts of the country. Nevertheless, Gov. Phil Bryant signed off on a Mississippi GOP email sent out today, asking for donations. The party’s mid-year fundraising goal of $10,000 is running behind, the email shows. The party has raised $2,791 of its $10,000 goal. Continue Reading

Politics Blog

MS Legislative Black Caucus Calls for Karl Oliver’s Resignation

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The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus has called for Rep. Karl Oliver, R-Winona, to resign from his post representing District 46, after he made a Facebook post on Saturday calling for the “LYNCHING” of those who brought down the Confederate monuments in New Orleans. Yesterday, Oliver removed the post and issued an apology. House Speaker Philip Gunn condemned Oliver’s statements and stripped him of his vice-chairmanship. Below is the full verbatim statement from the Legislative Black Caucus, published by Chairwoman Rep. Sonya Williams-Barnes, D-Gulfort, on Twitter this morning:

The MS Legislative Black Caucus is calling for the immediate resignation of State Representative Karl Oliver for his statement calling for the lynching of people responsible for the removal of Confederate statutes in New Orleans, LA. “Members of the MS legislature already struggle to work across party, racial and gender lines. Continue Reading