The Clarion-Ledger Editorial, 3/4/9
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans agreed Friday with U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee of Forest that Noxubee County Democratic Party Chairman Ike Brown systematically violated white voters’ rights.
The landmark case marks the first time in history that the federal government has used the 1965 Voting Rights Act to protect the rights of white voters.
Lee in 2007 ruled in favor of the U.S. Justice Department officials who claimed that Brown disenfranchised white voters in Noxubee County in violation of the Voting Rights Act. Brown appealed the ruling to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and a three-judge panel affirmed Lee’s ruling last week.
The feds proved that Brown and his loyalists rigged the voting process against white voters by manipulating voter rolls, making threats to ban some whites from voting and miscounting ballots to ensure white candidates lost and committing other discriminatory acts.
In the 2007 statewide elections, Lee banned Brown from running Democratic Party primaries to ensure whites’ voting rights weren’t violated.
