The tobacco tax that could

As the 2009 Legislative Session approaches, it looks like we'll have another go at the tobacco tax.

In an AP article today:

Two businessmen are petitioning to let Mississippi voters decide whether to increase the state tobacco tax and designate the revenue for Medicaid.

Clarksdale attorney and restaurateur Bill Luckett and Jackson advertising consultant Rory Reardon filed an initiative Thursday in the secretary of state’s office. They have a year to gather about 90,000 signatures to put the issue on the ballot.

And, somewhat surprising, Barbour is not completely opposed to the idea of raising the tobacco tax. Don't get too excited, though. His proposal is so low, the whole thing will inevitably get bogged down, and the King of Tobacco could still come out looking good to his tobacco buddies after all.

Gov. Haley Barbour said this week that he’ll ask the 2009 Legislature to increase the cigarette excise tax, which is now 18 cents a pack. Barbour proposes adding 24 cents a pack on premium brands and 43 cents on off-brands.

I guess off-brand folks don't hire big-time DC lobbyists.

If we do have a ballot measure, which would be preferrable over whatever plan Barbour devises for his buddies, it will be interesting to see what numbers the legislature comes up with, and how much money will be poured into the state on such a measure.

More on ID requirements

As an update to the posting from yesterday, below are the suitable forms of identifying where you live on Election Day, should the need arise. This listed on the voter registration form from the Secretary of State's website.

Identification Requirement: If you do not have a driver's license or social security number, and this form is submitted by mail, and you have never registered to vote in the county you are now registering in, you must send, with this application, either a) a copy of current and valid photo identification, or b) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter. If you do not provide the information requested above, you may be required to provide to election officials either (a) or (b) above the first time you vote after January 1, 2004 at a voting place or by absentee ballot.

Costs of elections

The Daily Journal ran the numbers on how much it is costing the taxpayers of Mississippi to run essentially two special elections. The total- nearly $1 million dollars. Keep in mind when you see these numbers, that Haley Barbour and his attorneys argued that holding a special election for the vacant Senate seat would cost the taxpayers more money (and went against the Mississippi constitution). However, we can go with the constitution, and spend $1 million on the NE Miss race.

The first number is for the special election, the second number is for the runoff.

COUNTIES SPECIAL RUNOFF
Alcorn $20,000 $18,000
Benton $7,700 $7,700
Calhoun $14,000 $14,000
Chickasaw $8,000 $8,000
Choctaw $6,800 $6,800
Clay $10,000 $10,000
DeSoto $35,000 $30,000
Grenada $12,500 $12,000
Itawamba $7,800 $7,800
Lafayette $12,500 $12,000
Lee $65,000 $45,000
Lowndes $25,000 $18,000
Marshall $12,000 $10,000
Monroe $25,000 $25,000
Panola $12,500 $12,500
Pontotoc $21,000 $21,000
Prentiss $9,000 $9,000
Tate $16,500 $16,500
Tippah $10,000 $10,000
Tishomingo $20,000 $15,000
Union $10,000 $10,000
Webster $9,000 $9,000
*Winston Unavailable Unavailable
Yalobusha $17,000 $6,000
TOTAL $386,300 $333,300
Sec of State $130,900 $130,900
GRAND TOTAL $517,200 $464,200
* Winston County had only one precinct.

Obama Picks Up a Two Delegate Gain in Mississippi

The final tally of the Mississippi Democratic Primary vote has been made official by the office of the Secretary of State. We thought on the initial numbers that Obama would garner a 19-14 delegate win in Mississippi. The actual split is going to be 20-13, which in effect is a two delegate gain for Obama.

The final popular vote tally:
Obama - 265,502
Clinton - 159,221

H/T to Kos and DU for pointing this out

Delbert Hosemann: "It's Moron Ma'am."

Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal:

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann expects a light to moderate turnout 125,000 to 150,000 voters for today primaries featuring congressional and presidential choices. Hosemann said 100,000 ballots were cast in the 2004 presidential primary, which came after President Bush and Democratic Sen. John Kerry had won their parties' nominations and included fewer contested congressional primaries than this year.

According to my counts from the Clarion Ledger website there will be more than 405,237 voters in the Democratic primary alone and more than 545,237 voters overall.

Would that make the total 363% of his HIGHEST estimate?

The following advertisement is what I played off of for the title:


"It's Moron Ma'am"

Pay raise for elected officials

Below are the new raises legislators in the House voted on yesterday. The bill narrowly passed the House and now goes to the Senate.

From the Sun Herald:

With the raise, the speaker of the House and lieutenant governor would get $90,000 a year in addition to the compensation they get for being in the Legislature.

Legislators' pay would rise from $10,000 a year to $15,000, in addition to mileage and other compensation. Per diem for lawmakers would also be raised to $75 per day, and they would now receive $2,500 per month when the legislature is not in session, up from $1,500.

Among the other raises:
• Governor - $152,000, up from $122,160.
• Attorney general - $140,000, up from $108,960.
• Secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, insurance commissioner and agriculture commissioner - $120,000, up from $90,000.
• Transportation commissioners and public service commissioners - $108,000, up from $78,000.

In the news

According the Clarion Ledger, Eric Clark, out-going Secretary of State, has applied for a job as the executive director of the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges.

But, he may have some competition.

George Walker, president of the state Community College board, said the body will review applications at its Dec. 21 meeting. Walker, who was reached at his Clarksdale home, didn't know the exact number of applicants, but estimated there to be about 20 to 25 qualified applicants. He said an additional 15 to 20 people are not being considered because they did not meet the qualifications.

The person must have a doctorate degree or equivalent and "five years senior-level full-time administrative experience in an applicable institution, government agency or industry," according to a job announcement posted earlier this year.

Delbert Hoseman Says He'd Like To "Explore" Early Voting

In the Commercial Dispatch:

Secretary of State-elect Delbert Hosemann also said during his campaign that he's interested in allowing early voting, but measures would be needed to ensure voting machines are tamper-free from fraud.

“It helps with absentee-voting issues and the security of the vote,” Hosemann said. “Early voting is something we need to explore.”

I hope he does make early voting a priority. It's been done elsewhere with few problems. Voter fraud does need attention, but access is a far more important issue. Hopefully we can tackle both.

Rob Smith for Secretary of State Radio Ads

Ad #1


Ad #2

Rob Smith for Secretary of State Ad #2

Rob Smith for Secretary of State

After Republican Delbert Hosemann ran his thoroughly excellent, high dollar advertisements I think this effort by Democrat Rob Smith is the only logical response. I don't think it will be particularly well financed. We'll see if it has any effect.

Guess Who's Back... Delbert's Back...

Democratic Candidate For Secretary Of State Rob Smith

Republican Candidate For Secretary Of State Delbert Hosemann

Text of The Letter Sent To Mr. Riley

The letter Mr. Paul Leslie Riley received concerning the challenge to his candidacy:

Dear Mr. Riley:

This letter will serve as official notice that serious issues have arisen as to your qualifications as the Mississippi Constitution Party nominee for Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, a matter which will be subject to formal review by the State Board of Election Commissioners (hereafter "Board").

You declared on your March 1, 2007 candidate qualifying papers that you are a legal resident of Pontotoc County. However, it appears from records maintained by the Circuit Clerk of Pontotoc County that you are not a qualified elector of that county. A finding that you are not a qualified elector of that county could result in your disqualification from being on the November 2007 General Election ballot.

As noted earlier, you are hereby notified that the Board will meet Tuesday, September 11, 2007 to review the issue of your qualifications to serve as a candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, as well as to approve the official sample ballot for the November 6, 2007 General Election. The meeting will be held at 1:30 pm on the 19th floor of the Walter Sellers Building. You may attend the meeting and will be given five (5) minutes to address the Board. Furthermore, you may submit a written response in support of your candidacy, as well as provide any supporting documentation by filing that with Secretary of State at the above-referenced address. You are requested to provide such a written response by no later than the close of business on Monday, September 10, 2007.

Please contact me at (###) ###-#### if you have any questions regarding this matter.

Sincerely,
Willie C. Allen
Director of Elections Administration

The quote I found strangest was this:

You may attend the meeting and will be given five (5) minutes to address the Board.

They are saying they may kick him off the ballot (a man who has lived in the state his entire life) due to a technicallity and he "may" attend the meeting?

Lester Spell, this is low, down, dirty, and desperate and shows the low opinion you have of your own re-election chances.

Rob Smith in Downtown Jackson on Labor Day

It's not often that I hear a Democrat stand up for the Democratic brand and I want to commend Rob Smith for doing so.

This speech is also very specifically a "labor day" speech.

First Paid Advertising for Cole and Smith?

I spotted this on the WLBT "Decision 2007" page.



I think this is the first paid advertising (other than signs and literature) for both candidates.

Eric Clark's Prection and the Actual Result

Last week Secretary of State Eric Clark predicted that 710,000 Mississippians would vote on election day.

In the end the total number of voters added up to fewer than 606,000 total.

I'm Voting For (a) Smith

I was very surprised with the landslide result in the Democratic primary for Secretary of State.

John Windsor was expected to win the race without much difficulty. He had raised far more money, had more staff, had gone on television, and ran a respectable effort online.

He lost to Rob Smith who received 73 percent of the vote.

One explanation would be that he ran statewide before. He actually was in a runoff with Gary Anderson for the nomination for Treasurer in 2003 so many in the state had seen his name on the ballot twice before.

That alone can not explain the huge total he received on election day.

A friend of mine who is far smarter than myself had a possible solution.

Smith is a common name. There are even a lot of Robert Smiths in Mississippi. People didn't know much about this down-ticket race and went with the name they thought was most familiar. Heck, maybe they thought they even knew the guy they were voting for.

This is the most reasonable answer I've heard.

Rob Smith is a good man and a qualified candidate. He will make an excellent Secretary of State. The question now is how much will the "Smith Factor" play in his favor in the general election against Englebert/Eggbert/Dilbert?

How I Would Vote In The Republican Primary

Governor: Frederick L. Jones (Because he hasn't attacked his opponent's family or attempted to kick thousands off of Medicaid)

Lt. Governor: People supporting Ross and Bryant have both accused me of being biased in favor of the other candidate. Sorry folks, I am biased but it is favor of Jamie Franks. Write in Jamie Franks.

Auditor: You've got 1 choice and his last name is Pickering.

Secretary of State: Write in Englebert Hosemann if only for the commercials.

Attorney General: Vote for the candidate with the best scowl: Al Hopkins.

State Treasurer: You've got 1 choice and he's the incumbent.

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce: Vote for the guy who switched parties last decade instead of this one. (Max Phillips)

Commissioner of Insurance: Ronnie English is not a serious candidate leaving you to vote for Mike Chaney and his rubber chicken.

(I've brought this up again for people who said they had trouble finding it)