GWC – Jamie Franks supports fight against Leflore consent decree
The chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party expressed support Wednesday night for dismissing or modifying a consent decree signed by the Leflore County Election Commission and the Mississippi Republican Party.
Jamie Franks spoke at a meeting of the Greenwood Voters League.
Jordan said the consent decree was “asinine” and he planned to fight it “tooth and nails.”
He also asked for the full support of the Mississippi Democratic Party. Franks said he could not offer that himself but would put them on the agenda to speak at an executive meeting June 19.
Franks said the decree bothered him “because state law governs state elections and it’s supposed to be enforced by the state of Mississippi and not the sheriff of Leflore County.”
If a sheriff is allowed to enforce election law, as Jordan and Moore claim the consent decree allows, voter intimidation and corruption would be too easy, Franks said.
“What happens in some of these counties where you have a sheriff that’s running, who may be in a little trouble?” Franks asked. “He may not need a call. He may simply send the cars out there.”
Jordan and Moore have both said in recent weeks that blacks could be reluctant to show up at the polls if law enforcement is present. Franks said law enforcement at the polls could intimidate anybody.
“In Mooreville, where I live, it’s all white, but if you got the sheriff sitting out there, then white folks ain’t going to go vote,” Franks said. “So, I assume black folks are the same way.
“If you got the sheriff sitting up there with the blue lights flashing, how many folks are going to go to the precinct? Is that going to hold some people up?”
Franks said the Mississippi Democratic Party and the Leflore County Democratic Party should have been represented in the consent decree.
Greenwood Commonwealth
5/27/10
