Mississippi Today
Judge extends Hinds County precinct hours after numerous ballot problems
Chancery Judge Dewayne Thomas on Tuesday night extended voting in all Hinds County polling precincts until 8 p.m., giving voters in the state's most populous county an additional hour to cast ballots in a crowded statewide election.
The judge issued the order based on an emergency request from the Mississippi Democratic Party, which said in court documents that numerous precincts in the county ran out of ballots to issue voters throughout the day.
The ballot shortage happened in the middle of a bitter governor's race that has pitted Republican Gov. Tate Reeves against Democratic opponent Brandon Presley.
Hinds County is located in the state's metro area and contains a high percentage of Black voters, which tend to swing Democratic. The county would be a crucial voting bloc for Presley, who has mounted a competitive campaign against the incumbent governor.
Nick Cosmos, a legal protection attorney with Presley's campaign, told Mississippi Today in a statement that the campaign received numerous reports through its election hotline that multiple precincts in the county ran out of ballots throughout the day.
“We intend for every eligible voter who shows up to vote in Mississippi to be able to cast their ballot. If you are in line, please stay in line or if you have any issues, call the Voter Protection Hotline number at 601-203-4131,” Cosmos said.
But the Election Day concerns have attracted concerns from both of the state's political parties. Mississippi GOP Chairman Frank Bordeaux said he spent most of Tuesday traveling around the state but had been briefed on the Hinds County matter.
“If what I'm hearing is true, it's very, very concerning,” Bordeaux said.
Mississippi is a “bottom-up” state when it comes to elections, meaning counties are largely responsible for staffing polling precincts and printing enough ballots. State law requires counties to print a minimum of 60% of ballots reflective of their active voter count.
If voters are in line by 8 p.m., they can stay in line until they cast a ballot.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
On this day in 1896
MAY 18, 1896
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-1 in Plessy v. Ferguson that racial segregation on railroads or similar public places was constitutional, forging the “separate but equal” doctrine that remained in place until 1954.
In his dissent that would foreshadow the ruling six decades later in Brown v. Board of Education, Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote that “separate but equal” rail cars were aimed at discriminating against Black Americans.
“In the view of the Constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens,” he wrote. “Our Constitution in color-blind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law … takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved.”
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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Mississippi Today
Renada Stovall, chemist and entrepreneur
Renada Stovall sat on the back deck of her rural Arkansas home one evening, contemplating life when she had a life-altering epiphany…
“I gotta get out of these woods.”
She heard it as clear as lips to her ear and as deep as the trees surrounding her property. Stovall's job as a chemist had taken her all over the country. In addition to Arkansas, there were stints in Atlanta, Dallas and Reno. But she was missing home, her parents and friends. She also knew, she needed something else to do.
“I thought, what kind of business can I start for myself,” said Stovall, as she watered herbs growing in a garden behind her south Jackson home. Some of those herbs are used in her all-natural products. “I know when I lived in Reno, Nevada, where it's very hot and very dry, there really weren't products available that worked for me, my hair, and my skin suffered. I've got a chemistry degree from Spelman College. I took the plunge and decided to create products for myself.”
In 2018, Stovall's venture led to the creation of shea butter moisturizers and natural soaps. But she didn't stop there, and in December 2022, she moved home to Mississippi and got to work, expanding her product line to include body balms and butters, and shampoos infused with avocado and palm, mango butter, coconut and olive oils.
Nadabutter, which incorporates Renada's name, came to fruition.
Stovall sells her balms and moisturizers at what she calls, “pop-up markets,” across the state during the summer. She's available via social media and also creates products depending on what of her ingredients a customer chooses. “My turmeric and honey is really popular,” Stovall added.
“The all-natural ingredients I use are great for conditioning the skin and hair. All of my products make you feel soft and luscious. The shea butter I use comes from West Africa. It's my way of networking and supporting other women. And it's my wish that other women can be inspired to be self-sufficient in starting their own businesses.”
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
On this day in 1954
MAY 17, 1954
In Brown v. Board of Education and Bolling v. Sharpe, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the “separate but equal” doctrine in Plessy v. Ferguson was unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed equal treatment under the law.
The historic decision brought an end to federal tolerance of racial segregation, ruling in the case of student Linda Brown, who was denied admission to her local elementary school in Topeka, Kansas, because of the color of her skin.
In Mississippi, segregationist leaders called the day “Black Monday” and took up the charge of the just-created white Citizens' Council to preserve racial segregation at all costs.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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