COMMENTS:
* So the Democrat legally won, and the Republican will disregard State law and challenge the outcome. Typical.
* So remember, if you don't vote, the fascists win
* They actually allow Democrats to vote in Mississippi?
* Sure. Why not? It's not like they COUNT the votes for the Dems anyway.
* This might be the straw that breaks ...
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Mississippi Republicans would have had free rein in the state, if it weren’t for that green straw
By Philip Bump, November 25, 2015
Coming into this month's elections in Mississippi, the Republican Party in the state was on the cusp of something significant. They already had a majority in the state House, as they have had since 2012. But with a few more votes, the Republicans would have a 74-person super-majority, two-thirds of the body, allowing them to pass things like the balanced budget amendment that failed in February.
Before Election night, each side had about 40 members of the 122-person legislature running unopposed. As results came in, it was obvious that the Republicans would get close. Republicans won a large majority of the contested races and, the day after the election, asked for Democratic volunteers to switch sides. On that Thursday, two days after the election, Rep. Jody Steverson (D) did exactly that. The Republicans were just about there.
There was only one problem: The 79th district.
When the votes were counted Election night, the 79th district ended up too close to call, with Republican Mark Tullos holding a seven-vote lead over the Democratic incumbent, Blaine Eaton. That's 0.08 percent of all of the votes counted. How that race was decided would decide whether or not the 73 Republicans became a 74-Republican super-majority, or if the 38 Democrats would become a 39-Democrat wall of opposition.
After all of the votes were counted, something remarkable happened. Eaton made up the difference with Tullos, and each stood at 4,589 votes total. So, now what?
Last year, something similar happened in a less important race for alderman in Poplarville, Miss. The new alderman there is Glenn Bolin, who runs a towing company. He ended up tied with his opponent at 177 votes each. The tie was broken, in accordance with state law, by drawing straws. Bolin drew the long straw and got the job.
That's also how the balance of power in the state legislature was determined.
On Friday, Eaton and Tullos met in Jackson, where they were presented with a bag containing two boxes. In one was a short red straw. In the other, a long green one. After some jockeying, Eaton, the Democrat, reached into the bag and drew out his box. Then Tullos took the other. When Eaton opened his, it had the green straw.
By law, Eaton is now the duly elected member from the 79th state House district in Mississippi.
But, once again, it is not that simple. Tullos can still challenge the results — and made clear even before the straws were drawn that he planned to do so if he chose the short straw. Why? Because the challenge will be heard by the full Mississippi House, which, of course, is still run by his Republican party.
In other words, the election, already three weeks old, is not yet resolved and will not be until next year. As quaint as the ceremony of straw-drawing is, it's worth remembering that political power rarely acquiesces to tradition.
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