GOP attempts to hide Musgrove race at bottom of ballot

In a blatant attempt to suppress voter turnout, Secretary of State and Haley Barbour lackey Delbert Hoseman, has moved the Senate race to the BOTTOM of the ballot for November. This is a clear violation of state law, which we know means nothing to the Governor. He already bent state law into a pretzel to get this special election moved to November. History shows that the lower on a ballot a race is the less people who vote on it. Experts agree that voter turnout is key to a Musgrove victory. Now they have come up with an ingenious, although illegal, way to suppress turnout.

This move smacks of desperation. It also shows a severe lack of confidence in their candidate Roger Wicker. Apparently they don't feel too good about his chances. The Republicans are running scared after having Greg Davis blasted out of the water by Travis Childers in the MS-01 special election. With Barack Obama on the ticket, voter turnout is going to be huge. They know that in a straight election, the turnout should be enough to send Roger Wicker back to his home district and send Ronnie Musgrove to the Senate. When Wicker gets back to Tupelo maybe he can explain his free-trade votes, considering the 10% unemployment rate of Northeast Mississippi that has grown with each plant that has been shuttered and shipped to Mexico or China.

The Daily Journal had this to say last week:

If the law allows any latitude at all, the decision ought to be a no-brainer. The most important race other than the presidency to be voted on by Mississippians that day should be in the most prominent place possible on the ballot. The only plausible reason for anyone to want it near the bottom is the hope that some voters will overlook it or just not take the time to finish their ballot.

Musgrove has already made it clear that he wants it near the top. Wicker has not said to this point, but a campaign spokesman has downplayed the issue's importance and questioned why Musgrove is concerned about it. Surely the Wicker camp wants the race to be as prominently displayed as possible, given its historic nature.

Since it's a special election, neither candidate's party affiliation will be listed on the ballot, unlike the Cochran-Fleming race. The law is clear on that.

If the law is open-ended on the ballot location, any decision other than to give the special election high-on-the-ballot prominence will be hard to explain or defend.

Hat Tip to Daily Kos