Civil rights coalition, U.S. Congressman want more answers about MS ballot shortages.
Advocacy groups are continuing the fight to hold officials accountable for voting issues in Hinds County on Election Day in November.
At least nine Hinds County polling stations experienced ballot shortages, causing long lines and forcing some voters to not vote at all, resulting in legal challenges into the evening. Election officials said the shortages were due to a mix-up in ordering the correct ballots at split precincts, which can have up to four or five different styles of ballots. They also blamed a lack of training on how to order the correct style of ballot from the Mississippi Secretary of State's office.
A coalition of local, statewide and national civil rights organizations aren't satisfied with that answer.
Standing in front of the Hinds County Circuit Clerk building, the coalition held a press conference Thursday calling on voters to attend a Dec. 12 meeting of the Hinds County Election Commission. They want voters to share with officials how they were affected by the ballot shortages on Election Day.
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The coalition includes these civil rights and social justice organizations:
Legal Defense Fund
One Voice
NAACP, Jackson Branch
The ACLU of Mississippi
Mississippi Center for Justice
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Mississippi Poor People's Campaign
Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
League of Women Voters of Mississippi
Black Voters Matter
Mississippi Votes
Mississippi Black Women's Round Table
Mississippi Urban League
Southern Echo
Disability Rights Mississippi
"We call on Hinds County voters to attend and provide public comment. Tell your elected officials about how these impacted your ability to vote. Ensure that your voice is heard," said Amir Badat, special counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Badat, who led the press conference, is also manager of the Voting Rights Defender and Prepared to Vote Projects, an initiative of the Legal Defense Fund that monitors and tracks voter suppression efforts throughout the South.
He, along with others from various groups, said they had contacted the Election Commission and requested a meeting to go over the issues that plagued the county on Election Day, but were denied. Instead, the commission invited the coalition to speak during the public comment portion of their meeting.
"We hope to receive their cooperation, but we are prepared to use whatever options necessary to address the (voting) problems that happened," he said.
"We want to make clear that the bar should be raised for how elections are administered," Badat said. "We should be pressing our elected officials at the local and the state level to ensure that adequate measures are in place and more folks are able to cast their ballots."
Brittany Denson, a volunteer with the Mississippi Poor People's Campaign, was working as a poll monitor on Election Day. Along with witnessing long lines and voters leaving due to the ballot shortages, Denson said she visited polls that did not open on time and were inaccessible to those with disabilities. She also said she received reports of voter intimidation by police officers in Holmes County.
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Overall, Denson said she witnessed a large amount of voter suppression throughout Mississippi on Election Day.
"Mississippian voters were not given a fair chance this election," Denson said.
Harya Tarekegn, director of advocacy and policy at the Mississippi Center for Justice, said they received calls from poll monitors that there were ballot shortages as early as noon on Election Day. After the election, the center made it a goal to follow up with all officials to try and figure out how to make sure shortages and other issues won't happen again.
But those officials were not responsive, Tarekegn said. A public records request was filed by the center to Hinds County's election commissioners and circuit clerk's offices asking for more information and a more thorough explanation on what caused the ballot shortages. Those records requests have not been answered even though it is past the seven-day statutory deadline for a response.
"We need to make sure that they (election commissioners) have filled their legal obligation to voters and if not we will use our legal tools to hold them accountable," Tarekegn said.
U.S Congressman demands answers
On top of the coalitions quest for answers, United States Congressman Bryan Steil sent a letter to all five members of the county's Election Commission demanding answers for the ballot shortages. Steil, a Republican from Wisconsin, is the chairman of the U.S. House Committee on House Administration.
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"I write today to express my deep concerns about reports that several polling locations in Hinds County, Mississippi, ran out of ballots on Election Day. Situations like this reported ballot shortage and the distribution of incorrect ballot styles have the potential to damage voter confidence at a time when we can least afford it," the letter states.
Steil's letter further states he would like a response from the election commission on what steps they have taken to prevent ballot shortages in the future. He requested a response from the commission on what they have done to:
Learn from this ballot shortage and ensure no precinct in Hinds County, Mississippi, has a shortage in any upcoming federal election and every precinct receives the correct ballot styles.
Prepare for the 2024 federal primary and general elections in Hinds County, Mississippi.
Restore voter confidence and to ensure voters that the correct ballot will be available when they next attempt to vote in person.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Advocacy groups continue fight for answers on MS ballot shortages
