Jackson Free Press

Republican District 71 incumbent legislator John Reeves said he will appeal a Hinds County Circuit Court decision to the Mississippi Supreme Court. Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Winston Kidd granted a writ of mandamus Tuesday to Democratic District 71 winner Adrienne Wooten, compelling the Hinds County Election Commission to certify the results of the Nov. 6 election and acknowledge Wooten as the winner.

Kidd ruled the commission had neglected its duties in not certifying the results after the votes were counted.

"The right to submit yourself as a candidate for public office is as precious as the right to vote. As such, a candidate is entitled to fairness in the election process. The law dictates that once the votes are appropriately counted, as done herein, the candidate with the greater number of votes shall be declared the winner. … It is elementary that the candidate with the greater number of votes, after all the votes are counted, must be declared the winner," Kidd stated in his decision.

Wooten called the committee's decision to to hold a revote "illegal and unconstitutional."

"The voters of House District 71 have spoken loud and clear. They do not want to be represented by John Reeves beyond Dec. 31," Wooten said.

Wooten asked the Hinds County Circuit Court to order the Hinds County Election Commission to reverse its November decision to hold a revote, and to certify her as the winner. The commission decided to hold a revote because of irregularities in precincts 72, 93, 92 and 96, which directed some voters to ballots without Reeves as a voting option. Reeves also said Precinct 92 used the wrong voter roll and turned some voters away when their names didn't appear.

Reeves, a Republican who has held the District 71 seat since 1984, lost to Democrat Wooten by about 220 votes. Wooten got more than 1,500 votes, while Reeves garnered about 1,300.

The court rejected Reeves' argument, which was based on the case Barbour v. Gunn, arguing that the case did not hold enough similarity to Reeves' issue.

"Primarily, and most importantly, the results in Barbour were certified in the manner as contemplated by the law and thereafter one of the candidates filed a petition contesting the election. In order for the process to move forward herein, the results of the election shall be certified."

Wooten's attorney Carlton Reeves said the court's decision followed Mississippi law.

"The court was right in that the Hinds County Election Commission was obligated to count the ballots, canvas those ballots and certify the results. The commission failed and refused to certify the results, and that was their statutory obligation."

Reeves maintains that the voter irregularities in the contested precincts deprived his voters of their constitutional right to a fair election, and said he would file an emergency appeal asking the court to vacate the Hinds County Circuit Court ruling.

"This case is about the right of every voter to participate in a free and fair election," Reeves said. "Any election should be decided according to the law and with every voter having the chance to vote for the candidate of his or her choice. The commission found that it could not determine the will of the voters and ordered a revote."

Note: An erroneous quote from John Reeves has been corrected in the above story. Adam Lynch apologizes for the error.

Previous Comments

ID

97570

Comment

Great job Judge Kidd!

Author

Bell

Date

2007-12-11T16:13:43-06:00

ID

97571

Comment

Guess now we will never know if she won fair and square. When precincts have differing ballots to distribute to residents, then confusion will always reign. No precinct should have to be responsible for this. No matter; Wooten will never be the Legislator that Reeves has been. Her love for Jackson will only be about a fourth priority, IMHO.

Author

ChrisCavanaugh

Date

2007-12-12T07:45:38-06:00

ID

97572

Comment

Wooten will never be the Legislator that Reeves has been. I thank GOD for that because if you call him a leader then we are all in trouble. FYI Reeves was involved in drawign the district lines, he has nobody to blame but himself.

Author

Bell

Date

2007-12-12T07:48:46-06:00

ID

97573

Comment

Good riddance to Reeves. The day of Republicans in elected office in Hinds County is rapidly coming to an end.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2007-12-12T08:42:40-06:00

ID

97574

Comment

Chris..I must say Im a tad disappointed. Your statement wreaks of sour grapes. And is classic talk when an African-American wins a seat from a longstanding white lawmaker. (the Hinds county constable's race is now being contested). and it unfortunately shows the immaturity of some voters. In fact, the judicial process that everyone leans on and which was put in place to decide such issues has spoken. And though the decision is not one you like it came down from a system that you would have supported had the decision been in Reeves favor. Wooten has not taken office yet. so there's is no way in hell you could know if she's going to be better than Reeves or not. You havent given her a chance. she should be afforded the same opportunity to succeed or fail that Reeves was given. And I dont have anything against Reeves. Everything Ive heard about him has been good. Probably a great guy(don't know him personally) but the system spoke and it is what it is. how do you know she doesnt like white people? And why when longstanding white lawmakers are beaten by Black ones, why do white folks instantly think whites are gonna get the short end of the stick? hmmmm?

Author

Kamikaze

Date

2007-12-12T10:36:45-06:00

ID

97575

Comment

Yeah chris i thought you was fair and unbiased i guess not. you disappointed me. You are crying more than Reeves

Author

NewJackson

Date

2007-12-12T10:39:37-06:00

ID

97576

Comment

I am not looking at this from the racial perspective. I was at the courthouse and witnessed the tallying. There were many problems with mis-programmed ballots in the machines. The truth is that no matter what race any of the candidates are; the shoe could have easily been on the other foot. The adminstration of voting in Hinds county is a total disaster. Surely I am not the only one to notice this.

Author

Willezurmacht

Date

2007-12-12T10:53:12-06:00

ID

97577

Comment

You are CORRECT Will..The election commision in Hinds county is...to be nice...inefficient. And any voting irregularities should be challenged. The shoe could have very well been on the other foot. I symapthize with Reeves. However, Judge Kidd made his ruling. Reeves will appeal and thats how the system works. I was speaking more to Chris' "She will NEVER be as good as Reeves" statement. How can he know that?

Author

Kamikaze

Date

2007-12-12T10:58:25-06:00

ID

97578

Comment

Chris writes, " Guess now we will never know if she won fair and square." Don't blame the player Chris: Blame the game. Keep in mind that Reeves was the lead horse on that merry-go-round for split voting. In another link, CrisCavanaught accused Wooden of being non-empathic "for any color other than her own." He further stated,"She will be a partisan player and portray a non-inclusive attitude." Were the two of you childhood friends? Chris, what is the germ of your knowledge base relative to Wooten's character/reputation. It is so often said that the fear some whites have of African-Americans in leadership roles is that they (black folks) will treat you the way that you have treated them. Think about it.

Author

justjess

Date

2007-12-13T14:40:23-06:00

ID

97579

Comment

..."It is so often said that the fear some whites have of African-Americans in leadership roles is that they (black folks) will treat you the way that you have treated them. WOW! We have a winner folks! You can close this one LOL. Cuz there it is!

Author

Kamikaze

Date

2007-12-13T14:58:20-06:00

ID

97580

Comment

Amen, Justjess. I will pay money to see the fear that white folks would have of an all black jury sitting in judgment of them with life or death as the only punishment options. Yet white folks want me to dumbly think as a black lawyer they make decisions regarding the life and death of black defendant without regards to race at all.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-12-13T15:55:21-06:00

ID

97581

Comment

I have taken some time to ponder what a few of you have written about me and my motives, my feelings. I read the blanket indictment some of you make of white people. Must you assign motives and feeling based on what you presume a person's race is? Must I be judged by the color of my skin and not by the content of my character?

Author

ChrisCavanaugh

Date

2007-12-14T06:53:39-06:00

ID

97582

Comment

I can't believe ths thread devolved into what it has become. If the tables were reversed, Ms Wooten would certainly challenge the election as well she should. I also don't appreciate the blanket statements about white people, because it's wrong and y'all wouldn't want to be put in a box like that either. As for votng for someone black, or white, it makes no difference to me. If they're a good candidate and reflect my beliefs, I'll vote for them. In fact, I can't wait for the day when a black republican runs for governor and wins, because it'll show the state has come full circle. On a national scale, I wish J.C. Watts would run for the white house. He's constantly courted by the RNC, but says he wants to see he his kids finish growing up since he missed alot early on. I can respect that, but the selfish part of me still wants him in the ring because he's a good man. He carried his district on a republican ticket in Oklahoma. BTW, that area was 90+ white. Anyway, Have a Merry Christmas all. Best, Cliff

Author

Cliff Cargill

Date

2007-12-14T07:24:01-06:00

ID

97583

Comment

I don't blame either person for taking the position they took. It's what I expected from both.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-12-14T08:48:26-06:00

ID

97584

Comment

I have no idea what Chris is talking about.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-12-14T08:50:20-06:00

ID

97585

Comment

OK, Chris, I'll have to read this more carefully to look at the blanket indictments. Meantime, though, I have to point out that you are the one who predicted on the site that Ms. Wooten would make her decisions based on her race, or however you put it, without possible knowing whether that could be true. In other words, you've set a certain tone on this topic, and not complaining about the response is kinda pitiful. I know the people posting here, or most of them. None of them are anti-white. But they also don't sugarcoat our history. Neither do I. But feel free to post the "blanket indictments" of white people for User Agreement scrutiny. I'm real busy this week, so it would help if you point them out specifically. Thanks.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-12-14T10:36:00-06:00

ID

97586

Comment

I am paraphrasing my post from another thread since there seem to be two threads on this. Election challenges are not really protecting the candidates; but rather the voting rights of the electorate. If there are any problems we ALL lose the integrity of our votes. the candidates should be an afterthought in this matter. I do not care about the race, gender, etc. of any of the candidates: when there is a problem with the tally or the ballots there MUST be a challenge. We, the voters, are the ones who lose our franchise when there is incompetence at the polls.

Author

Willezurmacht

Date

2007-12-14T11:53:07-06:00