Response to College Newspaper Story

Miss. to adopt voter registration system - News

U. S. District Judge Allen Pepper's ruling will be reviewed by the 5th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which will possibly set aside the August 31, 2008 deadline. Appeals have been filed by the state, the Mississippi Democrats, the NAACP, and, most recently, the Mississippi Republicans.

Pepper ruled that our state-mandated open primary system is unconstitutional, and I believe that that part of the ruling will be upheld on appeal. This will mean that each party will be free to determine who votes in its primaries. The Republicans have said that they will keep their primaries open to ALL voters-- even if party registration is enacted. The Democrats, in contrast, have indicated that they will invite independents but block Republicans from voting in Democratic primaries.

This is the first time that any court has ever ordered voter ID on a state. The likelihood is great that that part of the ruling will be reversed, as voter ID is the legislature's prerogative.

Sen. Terry Burton says that he favors eliminating party primaries and having all candidates run in the same election. Since he has been chairman of the Senate Elections Committee, why has Burton not introduced such a bill?

Good commentary on this topic is at Yall Politics.