An Ancient Gripe From Mississippi Voters

A commenter named Frances wrote at Yall Politics: “Is it fair to ask candidates for the House and Senate whether they are for an open or closed Primary? Is it fair to ask that question of Eaves and Barbour [the two nominees for governor in November's election]? Does anybody have any idea that it is possible to circumvent [Judge Pepper’s] order?”

I wonder how many of the people who are squawking about not being able to vote for candidates of both parties in last Tuesday's primaries have ever said anything to their legislators about this subject. This has been a recurring issue in Mississippi since the 1960s, and if the past is a guide, nobody will get excited about it again until the next election cycle.

I’m convinced that Pepper’s ruling striking down our current primary election law will be upheld on appeal. The likelihood is great, however, that his order for voter ID will be reversed, since that’s the legislature’s prerogative.

Once the dust settles, Democrats and independents will have their choice of either party’s primary-- just as ALL voters do now. Republicans, on the other hand, will only be able to vote in the Republican primary.

How I arrived at this is detailed here in several earlier posts.