Next secretary of state wants to get rid of Mississippi's Jim Crow-era election law

Luke Ramseth | Mississippi Clarion Ledger

Show Caption Hide Caption Michael Watson speaks at Neshoba County Fair Michael Watson speaks at the 2019 Neshoba County Fair political stump in his bid for Sec. of State in Miss.

Secretary of State-elect Michael Watson says he will push to change Mississippi's controversial two-part election process for statewide candidates.

"I'm definitely supportive of moving away from the current system," the Republican state senator told the Clarion Ledger Tuesday as he discussed priorities for his new job that begins next year.

Mississippi's Jim Crow-era election process requires statewide candidates to clear two hurdles to win office — a majority of the popular vote and a majority of the state's 122 House districts. If they don't win both, the winner is decided by the Mississippi House.

The provision was written into Mississippi's 1890 state constitution to help keep political power in the hands of whites. A federal judge declined to immediately block the election process before last week's election, though it did not become an issue in the governor's race as some had worried.

"We're the only ones that do it (like this), and that's got to change," Watson said of the state's election system, adding he plans to push the Legislature to initiate the change, which would ultimately need to be approved by voters. Most states require only a plurality of votes to decide a winner for governor and other statewide contests.

Watson, 41, defeated Democrat Johnny DuPree in last week's election and will take over from current Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, who was elected lieutenant governor.

Other issues Watson said he wants to address with the Legislature:

Campaign finance reform

Watson said he will advocate to remove a loophole in state law that allows politicians to personally profit from their campaign funds that were raised before Jan. 1, 2018. It may involve requiring politicians to spend the old money or transfer it to a newer account — with more strict standards — within a limited time frame.

He also said he will push for a campaign finance database that is searchable. Unlike most states, Mississippi candidate reports are currently filed in a format that does not allow the public to search for individual donors or interest groups.

"It brings more transparency and the ability for Mississippians to know who's funding what," Watson said.

Recall elections

Watson said Mississippi should consider allowing recall elections. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 19 states allow recall elections, where residents can seek to hold a special recall election to remove an elected official from office. States have varying standards for what type of conduct can serve as grounds for a recall.

The most prominent recall attempt in recent years was of former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who survived.

"We don't have that ability now in Mississippi," Watson said. "I think it makes sense, but again, (we'll) talk to some legislators (and ask), 'Would you like to entertain this?'"

He added it would give "more authority, more power to the voters to keep politicians in check."

Early voting access

DuPree campaigned on increasing access and participation in elections, and said he wanted no-excuse early voting in Mississippi, as a majority of states allow. Mississippi only allows early voting if the voter has a valid excuse.

Watson said Tuesday he remains opposed to the idea.

"I'm not a fan of early voting," Watson said. "I think our system as-is works well."

Driver's license services

During his campaign, Watson often mentioned wanting to move the state's driver's license services from the Department of Public Safety to the secretary of state's purview.

Under DPS, the program has long faced staffing shortages, budget woes and long wait times. Watson argues the secretary of state's office could handle it more efficiently. He said Tuesday several legislators have already inquired about sponsoring legislation in the upcoming session to make the change.

"There's a good appetite over there," to make the change, Watson said. "We've got to serve Mississippians better."

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Contact Luke Ramseth at 601-961-7050 or lramseth@gannett.com. Follow @lramseth on Twitter. Please support our work at the Clarion Ledger by subscribing.