Judge Dismisses McDaniel Supporter’s Lawsuit To Prevent Crossover Voting

FILE - This June 19, 2014 file photo shows Mississippi Republican Senate candidate, State Sen. Chris McDaniel speaking at a rally in Madison, Miss. Voters head to the polls in seven states Tuesday, and two of the lon... FILE - This June 19, 2014 file photo shows Mississippi Republican Senate candidate, State Sen. Chris McDaniel speaking at a rally in Madison, Miss. Voters head to the polls in seven states Tuesday, and two of the longest serving members of Congress face challenges that could end their careers. In Mississippi, six-term Sen. Thad Cochran faces tea party challenger Chris McDaniel in a Republican primary runoff. McDaniel is a 41-year-old state lawmaker who led Cochran by less than 1,400 votes but didn’t win a majority in the first round of voting. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File) MORE LESS
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A lawsuit aimed at stopping crossover voting in Mississippi was dismissed by a judge in the state on Tuesday.

The race has been caught up in controversies about the practice of “crossover voting,” in which some outside groups are accusing Sen. Thad Cochran’s (R-MS) campaign of encouraging Democrats and African-American voters to support him in the runoff.

The lawsuit, by Ronald W. Swindall, a supporter of Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel (R) was filed on Monday. McDaniel is facing Cochran in the runoff for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate.

In Mississippi, voters don’t register by party in primaries. Mississippi state law prohibits people from voting in the Republican runoff if they voted in the Democracy primary on June 3.

Swindall filed the new lawsuit in chancery court in Jones County on Monday. It was dismissed by Chancery Judge Deborah Grambell on Tuesday according to the Associated Press.

Tea partiers who support McDaniel have been citing a Mississippi law that stipulates a voter can only vote in a party primary if the voter plans to back that primary’s nominee in the general election. In 2008 a federal appeals court ruled that law as unenforceable.

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  1. What?

    No comments yet…

    Operation Chaos, indeed…

  2. “In 2008 a federal appeals court ruled that law as unenforceable.”

    it’s not enforceable, because the only way to do so, would be violating every voter’s right to cast their ballot secretly. it’s also, by definition, kind of a stupid law.

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