Mississippi
Mississippi has a history of voter suppression. Many see signs of change as Black voters reengage
JACKSON, Miss. — A few years ago, Tiffany Wilburn just didn’t see the point in voting any longer.
Her children didn’t have proper school books, health insurance was expensive and hard to get, police abuse continued against Black residents, and her city’s struggle to get clean drinking water seemed emblematic of her community always coming out on the short end of state decision-making.
Combine that with Mississippi’s long history of voter suppression and she felt casting a ballot was simply a hopeless exercise.
“It’s like you’re not being heard,” Wilburn said in her hometown of Jackson, the state capital. “You run to the polls, hoping and praying for change, and then you look around and nothing’s really happening. So you shut down.”
Recent interviews with Black voters, voting rights groups, candidates and researchers show that the voter fatigue felt by Wilburn has been widely shared in a state where nearly 40% of the overall population is Black. This year, political dynamics have combined to begin changing that, leading many voters such as Wilburn to reengage.
The race for governor appears competitive and is drawing national attention. Tuesday’s election also happens to be the first one in Mississippi to be held without the burden of an unusual post-Reconstruction constitutional provision that had made it virtually impossible for Black candidates to win on a statewide basis.
Five Black candidates are running for statewide office, from agriculture commissioner to secretary of state. Each is trying to become the first Black candidate to ever win one of those posts.
Taylor Turnage, 27, youth program director with Mississippi Votes Action Fund, speaks about elections, race and voter fatigue during a roundtable discussion with other youth community activists, on Oct. 25, 2023, in Jackson, Miss. Credit: AP/Rogelio V. Solis
Voting rights advocates hope the changes will encourage a rebuilding of the Black community’s voting base and provide a tail wind to Democrats in a state that is now mostly controlled by Republicans.
“Black people here aren’t scared to vote and do care because it impacts all of us, our entire livelihood,” said Glennard Warren, a 66-year-old voter in Vicksburg. “Now it’s more important that we enhance and educate all voters, especially Black people. But the voting process isn’t necessarily sound and there are many constraints that we’re facing like gerrymandering, purging of voter rolls — it’s a lot. But I’m going and taking everyone I can with me.”
White leaders of both parties used numerous tactics over several decades to suppress the Black vote, from poll taxes to literacy tests. Among the most pernicious was a provision slipped into the Mississippi Constitution in 1890 that required candidates for governor and other statewide offices to win not only a majority of the vote, but also a majority of the state’s 122 House districts.
After a lawsuit, voters in 2020 repealed it, ensuring that candidates just had to win a simple statewide majority. Some voting rights groups and candidates said that provides an opening, not just for this year’s candidates, but also to start expanding their voter base.
Austin Crudup, 23, with Mississippi Votes, speaks about elections, race and voter fatigue during a roundtable discussion with other youth community activists, on Oct. 25, 2023, in Jackson, Miss. Credit: AP/Rogelio V. Solis
Robert Bradford, the Democratic nominee for state agriculture commissioner, said repealing that part of the constitution will open doors for Black candidates to succeed in the years to come. He joined with several other Democratic candidates to engage with voters who had become disenchanted, thinking their voice would never make a difference in the state.
“We’ve got to sow those seeds in areas that never had anything grown,” he said. “We met people who felt like, ‘Why vote because nothing’s going to happen?’ It’s that mindset and those feelings that we have to address.”
Black voters in the state still face a disproportionate burden. A common complaint is about a purging of voter rolls that has caused problems for Black voters as recently as this year’s August primary.
Taylor Turnage of the Mississippi Votes Action Fund had to file a provisional ballot after she went to her polling place and found her name had been removed from the rolls.
“I’ve been voting in Tougaloo for several years with no problems. But when I went, I was told, ‘You’re not in the system,’” she said. “You’re purging people who are actually voting now? If people don’t know they’re purged until Election Day, it’s too late then.”
Among the remaining hurdles is another part of the state constitution that strips voting rights from people who have committed certain felonies, a provision that also dates to 1890.
Critics say the named crimes were ones the white power structure thought Black people were more likely to commit. In 2009, a former Democratic state attorney general issued an opinion that expanded the list to 22 crimes, including timber larceny, carjacking, felony shoplifting and passing bad checks.
“We have to have conversations about what’s still on the books — because that repeal is done, but the work isn’t over,” said Danyelle Holmes, a national social justice organizer for Repairers of the Breach, a group that advocates for voting rights, democracy and a range of social issues. “That’s how we get to the root of the fatigue.”
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to reconsider a 2022 decision by the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that said Mississippi had remedied the discriminatory intent of the original provisions by altering the list of disenfranchising crimes.
Many other states in recent years have taken steps to reinstate voting rights for former felons. In Mississippi, more than 10% of Black adults are formerly incarcerated, according to a 2022 report by The Sentencing Project.
“That’s a huge percentage. If the elections were close and that 10% could vote, it very well could sway the elections,” said Marvin King, a professor at the University of Mississippi who focuses on African American politics.
More recent events have contributed to a sense of embattlement in the Black community.
In particular, a 2022 water crisis in Jackson left most of the 150,000 residents in the majority Black city without running water for several days after heavy rains damaged one of the water-treatment plants. Residents lamented the government’s lack of attention to their basic needs.
Last spring, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who faces a reelection challenge from Democrat Brandon Presley, signed into law a major change passed by the Republican-controlled and majority white Legislature that created special courts with appointed judges in the county that includes Jackson.
Two lawsuits challenged it, arguing that the Mississippi Constitution requires most judges to be elected. Critics also said it was another way to make it harder for Black voters to elect candidates of their choice. In September, the Mississippi Supreme Court blocked the appointment of the circuit court judges but allowed a new lower-level court with one appointed judge.
Ty Pinkins, the Democratic nominee for secretary of state, took notice, citing his extensive history in suing the state for similar offenses in the past.
“We’re here to make sure that doesn’t continue to happen,” he said during a candidates’ rally in Vicksburg.
Black voters are listening, but some said boosting engagement is a two-way street: If they show up to vote, it has to be translated into action. That sentiment is especially strong on college campuses, a focal point of several of the Black candidates running for statewide office.
Students at Jackson State University, a historically Black college, want to see candidates spend time on campus discussing the priorities of the youngest voting generation.
“If I were to put myself in a candidate’s shoes, I would actually go on campus not to get votes but to understand,” said Austin Crudup, a 23-year-old student. “Ask what is something that you would like me to fix or change? What could I do to make your life a little bit easier?”
___
Associated Press writers Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi, and Gary Fields in Washington contributed to this report.
Outside of Mississippi State, Arkansas and Auburn, the SEC had a very successful Week Two of the college football season. The latest AP Top 25 poll reflects the strength of the SEC with 6 of the top 7 spots belonging to SEC teams.
Here’s a recap of how the ranked SEC teams fared in the second full week of the college football season:
Click here for a recap of the unranked SEC teams.
With the exception of giving up three points, this was probably exactly how Georgia expected this game to go. Carson Beck threw five touchdowns and the defense held Tennessee Tech to less than 150 yards of total offense. Anything less would be a surprise.
More than 100,000 people saw Texas come into Ann Arbor, Mich. and leave with a huge win. The Longhorns looked like the better team from the first drive of the game where they easily marched down the field. That Oct. 19 game in Austin against Georgia is looking better and better.
It was a lot closer than Alabama would’ve liked, but it’s a win that will fend off the “Nick Saban is gone, we’re doomed” crowd. At the same time, though, there were some things that crowd could point to at a later time.
Two games against inferior competition and Ole Miss has outscored its opponents 129-3. They’ll take a slight step up in competition next week against Wake Forest, but the Rebels are still about a month away from playing a team that will truly test them.
Missouri’s schedule just took an unexpected bump in its level of difficulty with No. 24 Boston College joining the top 25. Bill O’Brien is brilliant at game planning and calling plays (not so much with making trades, but that hasn’t reached the college ranks yet). Missouri needs to be on upset alert (and ready to stop the run).
This happens every year. Tennessee looks really good to start the season and by the end Volunteer fans are saying next year is their year. But maybe this year is their year with the way Nico Iamaleava has been playing.
Of the two SEC newcomers, Texas is getting most of the attention which makes sense based on the current teams. But folks, don’t sleep on the Sooners. They ruined many of my own childhood memories growing up in Texas. This week’s way-too close game doesn’t help that argument, but think long term.
LSU was one of three SEC teams to play FCS schools after playing top 25 teams last week. The Tigers and Texas A&M both lost, while Georgia won. So, it’s not surprising to see each of them play FCS teams and neither were any of the results.
SEC Week 2 Power Rankings: Which Teams Are Contenders or Pretenders?
WATCH: Mississippi State’s Bowl Hopes Take a Hit with Arizona State Defeat
Mississippi State Crumbles in the Trenches: What Went Wrong Against Arizona State?
Mississippi
Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo ‘disrespected’ by Mississippi State football’s defensive game plan
Cam Skattebo slammed Mississippi State on the football field on Saturday night and also took another jab afterward in his postgame press conference.
The Arizona State running back, following a 30-23 Sun Devils win at Mountain America Stadium, took exception to MSU only utilizing three defenders on the line of scrimmage. The results were damning.
Arizona State (2-0) rushed for 346 yards. It was the most allowed by Mississippi State (1-1) in a game since Arkansas in 2016. Skattebo’s 262 rushing yards on 33 carries were the second-most in ASU history.
“They couldn’t stop us in that three-down front,” Skattebo said when asked what made ASU’s run game successful. “Honestly, we all felt disrespected with them in a three-down front. You can’t come in here and put five guys in the box and expect to stop six. I don’t know. We took that a little disrespectful, and we rushed for what over 300 yards? Something around there. It is what it is.”
Skattebo, a 5-foot-11, 215-pound junior, also led Arizona State with 35 receiving yards on three catches.
“I knew these dudes were big and heavy,” he said. “We knew going into the game they weren’t as physical as most other teams but they’re heavy. So when they hit you, it hurts, no matter how hard they’re coming — 300 pounds at 10 miles per hour or 16 miles per hour hurts the same. I just kept my feet moving.”
Mississippi State trailed 30-3 in the third quarter but scored 20 unanswered points to cut the score to 30-23 with 5:27 to play. The Bulldogs never touched the ball again, with the Sun Devils running out the clock on 12 plays.
Skattebo had a game-sealing 39-yard rush that allowed ASU to kneel down.
“Until the end, we had our ups and downs there, but that was fun,” he said. “You can ask these guys up front, bullying dudes, grown men that are 300 pounds, that’s fun to us. That’s fun to the front-five, the front-seven and the running back. The quarterback probably hates it. He probably likes watching, but he didn’t complain one time the whole game.”
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Mississippi
Why Mississippi State football loss to Arizona State revealed a strong Jeff Lebby culture
It was 11:10 p.m. Saturday in Starkville when Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt barreled into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.
At that point, it would’ve been fair for Mississippi State football fans to call it a night. The Bulldogs (1-1) trailed 27-3 at ASU in the final minute of the second quarter. They were dominated in just about every statistical category. New coach Jeff Lebby looked like he was headed toward his first loss, and an embarrassing one.
And even if you gave the second half a chance, eyes just a crack open, that wasn’t encouraging either. Arizona State (2-0) took the opening drive of the third quarter for a field goal while eating 8 minutes, 27 seconds of game time. That just about decided the game before Mississippi State touched the ball in the second half.
Wrong.
Instead, MSU scored touchdowns on three of its next four drives and cut the score to 30-23 with 5:27 to play. The defense, which was torched for 346 rushing yards, needed one more stop to let the offense try to tie it. It would’ve been the largest comeback in program history.
Mississippi State’s path to a bowl game seems murkier than it was a week ago. But in the long-term, there’s still encouragement after the 30-23 loss.
“Our guys battled in an incredible way in the second half, and we’re going to hold on to that,” Lebby said in his postgame radio interview. “We’re going to find ways to get back in the building, get back to work and be able to walk into Davis Wade (Stadium) with a ton of confidence and ready to go win a football game.”
The encouragement from Mississippi State’s comeback effort
Lebby said after beating Eastern Kentucky 56-7 in Week 1 that there is an abundance of teachable moments in wins, just like losses.
There is plenty to point to after losing to Arizona State.
Mississippi State came out incredibly flat. The Sun Devils scored on their first five possessions. The MSU offense had one field goal, two punts, a fumble returned for a touchdown and a turnover-on-downs in the first half. MSU had -13 rushing yards in the first half.
There were concerns entering the game about the travel distance, late kickoff and high temperature. But let’s be real, Mississippi State was playing so poorly at the start that it was hard to judge if those were factors.
“I got to do a better job getting these guys ready to go play out of the gate,” Lebby said. “I thought our energy, our effort and our emotion was really good, but then we did not play clean there in the first quarter, so that part was frustrating.”
The Bulldogs outscored the Sun Devils 20-0 in the final quarter and a half. It was a surprise. Arizona State was rolling. Mississippi State was not.
MORE: Introducing Sam Sklar, the Clarion Ledger’s new Mississippi State beat reporter
For Lebby, a first-time head coach at any level, let it be a learning moment for him. It was his first time getting pinned in a corner. The Bulldogs adjusted correctly in the second half like good coaches do.
The rushing offense and defense both need to improve. Badly. Quarterback Blake Shapen has been impressive in his first two Mississippi State games and the wide receiver room is deep and talented as ever, but they can’t be the only answer.
That’s just for this season.
Mississippi State has its first tally in the loss column. But it isn’t a strike against Lebby leading the future of the program.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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