Federal Judge Orders Mississippi to Register Voters by Political Party

by Adam Nossoter, The NY Times: JACKSON, Miss., July 13: A federal court ruling in June that forces voters to register by party could return Mississippi to the days of racially polarized politics, as many white Democrats warn that thousands of white voters will now opt definitively for the Republican Party. Republican-leaning voters in Mississippi have long been able to cross party lines in primaries, voting for centrist Democrats in state and local races while staying loyal to Republican candidates in national races. But political experts here say that by limiting these voters - almost all of whom are white - to Republican primaries, the ruling will push centrist Democratic candidates to the other party, simply in order to survive. . . .

The ruling last month by Judge W. Allen Pepper Jr. of Federal District Court allowed the legal remedy sought by black leaders. Judge Pepper said the Democratic Party in Mississippi had a right to “disassociate itself” from voters who were not genuine Democrats. Most other Southern states also have open primaries. As a result of the ruling, which was handed down June 8 and barring an appeal will go into effect next year, few whites are likely to remain in the Democratic Party, experts here say, a prospect that Republicans regard with glee, white Democrats with horror and black leaders with indifference. Not for the first time in the South, Republicans and blacks have achieved a de facto unspoken alliance of common interests that has been particularly evident in the drawing of Congressional districts, where blacks are packed into majority-black districts, leaving little space for moderate white Democrats to be elected.

The Democrats’ dominance at the local level may now be threatened by Judge Pepper’s ruling. “If they are required to re-register, the Democratic Party will be a shell of its former self because I just don’t think you’ll see those conservative whites re-register as Democratic,” said Jere Nash, who is white and a veteran consultant and onetime chief of staff to former Gov. Ray Mabus, a Democrat. R. Andrew Taggart, a white lawyer who succeeded Mr. Nash when Kirk Fordice, a Republican, was elected governor, agreed. The ruling was “very far-reaching,” Mr. Taggart said. “He has essentially ruled our entire primary structure must be changed.” “If forced to make a decision,” Mr. Taggart added, “a plurality of Mississippi voters will identify themselves as Republican.” . . . [Read More]

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