- Mar 11, 2015
- 83,050
- 49,548
- 2,645
And if you don't think so..
How a Jim Crow law still shapes Mississippiās elections
By Ian Millhiser Oct 11, 2019
Jim Hood is a political unicorn. A Democrat, Hood nonetheless has won four consecutive statewide elections in the blood-red state of Mississippi ā all of them for attorney general. Now he hopes to add a new line to his resume. Heās the Democratic candidate for governor in next monthās election. And the polls suggest that heās got a real fighting chance.
But thereās a catch. Mississippi held a constitutional convention more than a century ago to, in the words of one former state governor and US senator, āeliminate the n****r from politics.ā One still-remaining vestige of that convention is the unusual way the state conducts its statewide elections.
For statewide positions other than US senator, Mississippi uses a system similar to the electoral college. Itās not enough for a candidate to simply win the statewide popular vote. Rather, they must win both a majority of the popular vote and win a majority of the stateās 122 state house districts. If no candidate clears both of these hurdles, the state house chooses the winner from the top two candidates.
How a Jim Crow law still shapes Mississippiās elections
How a Jim Crow law still shapes Mississippiās elections
By Ian Millhiser Oct 11, 2019
Jim Hood is a political unicorn. A Democrat, Hood nonetheless has won four consecutive statewide elections in the blood-red state of Mississippi ā all of them for attorney general. Now he hopes to add a new line to his resume. Heās the Democratic candidate for governor in next monthās election. And the polls suggest that heās got a real fighting chance.
But thereās a catch. Mississippi held a constitutional convention more than a century ago to, in the words of one former state governor and US senator, āeliminate the n****r from politics.ā One still-remaining vestige of that convention is the unusual way the state conducts its statewide elections.
For statewide positions other than US senator, Mississippi uses a system similar to the electoral college. Itās not enough for a candidate to simply win the statewide popular vote. Rather, they must win both a majority of the popular vote and win a majority of the stateās 122 state house districts. If no candidate clears both of these hurdles, the state house chooses the winner from the top two candidates.
How a Jim Crow law still shapes Mississippiās elections