Published: August 22, 2008 12:32 pm         

Musgrove campaign: Ballot order could be critical

JACKSON — A battle is brewing over ballot order in Mississippi, and Democrats believe the decision of a Republican-controlled board could influence how many people vote in a tightly contested special election for U.S. Senate.

Tim Phillips is campaign manager for Democrat Ronnie Musgrove, who’s challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker in a race to finish the final four years of a term started by the GOP’s Trent Lott.

Phillips told The Associated Press on Thursday that he’s concerned the state Board of Election Commissioners, made up of two Republicans and one Democrat, will recommend that local officials put the Musgrove-Wicker contest at the very bottom of the Nov. 4 ballot.

Phillips said such a decision could mean that “tens of thousands of falloff voters would not vote,” in the U.S. Senate race and he believes that would hurt Musgrove, a former governor.

Phillips said he has received two informal opinions from Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann’s office in the past few weeks suggesting that Hosemann might recommend putting the Musgrove-Wicker race at the end of the ballot, after contests for the state Court of Appeals.

History shows there is typically a significant drop-off in the number of Mississippians who vote in top-of-the-ticket races such as president and senator and those who vote in races further down the ballot, where the candidates might be less familiar.

A ballot counts even if some races are left blank.

Hosemann spokeswoman Pamela Weaver said Thursday that the office is researching state laws before making an official recommendation about ballot order.

“We’re checking. We’re rechecking. We want to be sure we’re fair to everybody,” Weaver said.

Hosemann and fellow Republican Gov. Haley Barbour are two of the three members of the state Board of Elections Commissioners. The other is Attorney General Jim Hood, a Democrat.

Barbour moved Wicker from the U.S. House to the Senate after Lott resigned in December. Wicker is serving until the special election.

Marty Wiseman, a political scientist at Mississippi State University, said Musgrove could be hurt if the special Senate race appears at the bottom of the ballot. Musgrove is hoping for a boost from Democratic turnout for presidential candidate Barack Obama.

“What Musgrove has to do is registration, education and dedication,” Wiseman said. “They have to get some folks registered to vote who haven’t been in the past. They have got to educate them to the fact that there will be no parties listed (in the special Senate race). And they have got to be dedicated to get them out to vote.”

The Board of Elections Commissioners is scheduled to meet Sept. 9 to vote on a sample ballot that will go to local elections boards. Each of the 83 counties sets its own ballot order, but many follow the state board’s suggested order.

Phillips said he believes the special Senate race should be in the third spot on the ballot — after the presidential race and the regular U.S. Senate election between Republican incumbent Thad Cochran and Democratic challenger Erik Fleming.

Phillips said there’s precedent in Mississippi for putting a special election on the ballot near other, similar races. He cites a 2002 sample ballot — posted on the secretary of state’s Web site — that put a special election for a Court of Appeals seat immediately after the regular elections for Court of Appeals.

“I’m sure that Sen. Wicker will join me in calling on the secretary of state to place this, the most prominent election in the state this year, where it belongs,” Phillips said.

But, Wicker campaign spokesman Ryan Annison said candidates should be talking about other issues.

“It seems like a matter for the secretary of state and the Elections Commission,” Annison said of the ballot order. “I am surprised that in the midst of everything going on, that’s Ronnie Musgrove’s biggest concern.”

Candidates’ party affiliations are not listed on special election ballots in Mississippi, but the two national parties are pumping tens of thousands of dollars into the contest here as Democrats seek to strengthen their majority and Republicans try to hold onto a seat Lott won 20 years ago.