The Truth

On September 13, 2011, Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann partnered with Attorney General Jim Hood and removed Todd Wade from the November 8 ballot in blatant violation of Mississippi law. This page is intended to provide the public the full story, and it is also a call for your support and help.

The Opposition

Many people believe that Hosemann plans to seek higher office in years to come, but we will not allow him to illegally use his political opposition as stepping stones to achieve that goal. However, Hosemann and Hood have the entire Mississippi treasury at their disposal, so this fight is a tough and costly one. We need your help.

Support

If you have any comments, offers of support, or information, please email them to todd@toddwade.net or call 662-701-7315 Further, Todd Wade is committed to open and honest government, so this web page is also an open challenge to Hosemann, Hood, or any other person to prove that Hosemann and Hood’s actions were anything other than illegal.

The Details

Todd Wade registered to vote in his senior year of high school (1995), and he has been a resident of Lafayette County since returning from the NFL in January 2009. He has voted regularly since returning, and Hosemann and Hood have acknowledged this. Thus, he is constitutionally qualified and entitled to run for Senate. That is the reality of the situation.

Pursuant to statute, he was certified by the Mississippi Republican Party and then by the Mississippi Secretary of State. After that, like any candidate, the following Mississippi law is controlling:

§ 23-15-963. Exclusive procedures for contesting qualifications of candidate for general election; exceptions

(1) Any person desiring to contest the qualifications of another person …shall file a petition specifically setting forth the grounds of the challenge not later than thirty-one (31) days after the date of the first primary election …

The procedure set forth above shall be the sole and only manner in which the qualifications of a candidate seeking public office…

The primary occurred on August 2; thus, Mississippi law states that the last day to challenge a candidate was September 2. Further, Mississippi law requires any challenged candidate to receive two days notice of his challenge. This is called due process. Hosemann gave Wade just under two hours notice, and, had Wade not been on his way to Jackson, Hosemann and Hood would have made this decision without even allowing Wade to be present. When presented with this law, Hosemann said, “This Commission has special powers, and we’re going to figure out what those are.” Well, you needn’t look far because they are clear. The Secretary of State and Election Commission do not have any “special powers,” and they are bound to 23-15-963 as much as any other citizen. In Gourlay v. Williams, the Mississippi Supreme Court addressed this issue directly stating that 23-15-963 and 23-15-961 are the sole means for challenge prior to an election. Hosemann and Hood are not above this law.

Further, Hood himself issued an opinion which addressed untimely challenges and stated, “We are of the opinion that a municipal party executive committee may not hear or act on a petition challenging a candidate’s qualifications that is filed after the statutory deadline of ten (10) days after the qualifying deadline. There is no statute providing for any further challenge before the executive committee after the ten day deadline.” Hood AG Opinion No. 2005-0185. Hood even quoted Gourlay, the very case Wade’s attorneys cited in their arguments! This analysis is identical to Wade’s challenge, but Hood ignored his own opinion to get Wade off the ballot.

This is just a brief overview of some of the issues surrounding these illegal actions. Please read the explanatory letter which was sent to Hosemann and Hood prior to the September 13 meeting for even more bases of illegality.

Conclusion

Wade was fully qualified, and Delbert Hosemann decided to be investigator, judge, jury, and executioner in appointing Wade’s opponent to the District 9 Senate Seat. He unequivocally took that vote away from the public and granted it to himself. Thousands of voters have been disenfranchised by Hosemann’s actions, and his only explanation for his actions is that he has “special powers.”

No elected official should have the audacity to claim to have “special powers” to violate the laws of the State of Mississippi, but, as of now, Hosemann has gotten his way.

It is just this type of political maneuvering and disrespect for the voters that Wade sought to oppose as a newcomer to public service, but, for some unknown reason, Hosemann has chosen his own desires over the plain language of the law.

Contacts

Please contact us with offers of support at todd@toddwade.net or call 662-701-7315, but, also, if you would like to express your dissatisfaction with Hosemann’s “special powers,” please email or call the following people:

 

Name	Email	Phone
Delbert Hosemann	dhosemann@sos.state.ms.us	601-359-6342
Jim Hood	jhood@ago.state.ms.us	601-359-3680

 

FURTHER READING

Brief to Hosemann and Hood prior to September 13 Election Commission meeting   This letter was sent by Wade’s attorneys prior to the September 13, and it lays out, in detail, both the issues stated above as well as numerous other proofs of the illegality of Hosemann’s actions.

Gourlay v. Williams   This case clearly shows that the Mississippi Supreme Court strictly observes election law timing, even if our Secretary of State and Attorney General do not.

Hood AG Opinion No. 2005-0185   In this opinion, Jim Hood himself states that candidates may not be challenged outside the statute of limitations. He did not observe his own opinion on Tuesday.