The Mississippi governor's race is on November 7th 2023
This is the first Mississippi governor's race that will be decided by popular vote
In 2020 a constitutional amendment was passed to update the system
A law suit was filed in 2019
The suit was filed on behalf of black plaintiffs
US District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III wrote that he had grave concerns about the constitutionality of Mississippi's two part election system just prior to the 2019 governor's race
Jordan put the lawsuit on hold to give the legislature a chance to remedy the situation by putting a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot
Passed with 79.3% of the vote
From when the constitution was adopted in 1890 to 2020 candidates had to win the popular vote as well as the majority of the 122 house districts
If one of the two requirements was not met then it would be decided by a vote in the house of representatives
The governor's race is considered competitive
Rated as Lean R
The current governor, Tate Reeves, is very unpopular
Democrat Brandon Presley is pretty conservative
He is also related to Elvis
Mississippi has had a long history of voter suppression
While removing the provision requiring an electoral college style win in addition to winning the popular vote is a huge step in the right direction there is still significant voter suppression particularly directed at the black community
There have been voter roll purges as well as the state constitution stripping voting rights from people who have committed certain felonies
The list of named crimes were ones people in the power structure thought black people were more likely to commit
A black candidate has never won a state wide office
Mississippi is almost 40% black
The previous election style made it virtually impossible
5 black candidates are running for state wide office (not running for governor)
Experts say they see signs of black voters starting to reengage
PC: Mississippi Today