Release from Todd Wade campaign…
September 20, 2011–Todd Wade, Republican candidate for Senate District 9, has decided to end his appeal of the election commission’s decision to remove him from the ballot. Wade sites Mississippi military personnel’s right to vote as a major reason for the decision. Wade says a prolonged court battle with the Secretary of State’s office could delay ballots being provided to military personnel overseas in time for those votes to be counted.
“Our fighting men and women are putting everything on the line in far away parts of the world so that we have the freedom to vote,” said Wade. “A lengthy court battle could jeopardize their voices being heard in the upcoming elections. Secretary Hosemann may be willing to jeopardize the ballots getting to them in time by carrying on this fight, but I will not. He says he has ‘special powers’ to do this. But, this is one point where I have the power to put a stop to it, and I will.
“I look forward to getting back to business and helping to improve the community. But, I will also continue to be active in the Republican Party and in Mississippi politics. Mississippi must adhere to the Constitutional principles of the free-market if it is going to attract private sector jobs to this great state in the future. Creating tax revenues by creating jobs and not by raising taxes must be priority number 1 in Mississippi.
“I also hope to work with our state legislators to clarify and strengthen the rules that exist as it relates to the Election Commission’s role, so that what happened in this case doesn’t happen again.
“People who want to dedicate their time and energy to serve their fellow citizens by running for office need not have to fear an overzealous Secretary of State. Secretary Hosemann’s actions and statements show that he believes he can unilaterally decide to disqualify someone or conduct investigations without cause and outside the scope of his constitutional authority. If he believes he has the authority outside the statutory 31 days–which we maintain he does
not–then what stops him, or future Secretarys of State, from disqualifying someone AFTER they have taken office? The statute puts a time limit on challenges for this very reason. I worry that this sets a precedent that will be abused by future Secretary’s of State and that it will continue to politicize and polarize the way elections are held. I hope the legislature will act to clarify what the rules are and direct that the Election Commission must follow them. Ignoring this breach of the constitution endangers the future integrity of the voting process. We must demand that our elected officials follow constitutional principles. No one is above the law.
“I thank all of my supporters for their devotion to this campaign, and I thank the Republican Party for standing by me and the letter of the law. True public service should be about principle over political power. I look forward to promoting that message and the positive changes that will come as a result.”
