Hosemann: Fewer Than 900 Crossover Votes in June

BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann says in a new report that fewer than 900 people might have voted in one party’s primary and then improperly crossed over to vote in other party’s runoff in June.

That is significantly lower than a claim by Chris McDaniel, an unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate who says he thinks about 3,100 people voted in the June 3 Democratic primary and the June 24 Republican runoff.

McDaniel, a tea party-backed state senator, lost the Republican runoff to six-term Sen. Thad Cochran. But McDaniel argued in a lawsuit that crossover votes and other irregularities tainted the outcome and the results should be tossed.

The Mississippi Supreme Court has not yet ruled on McDaniel’s request to revive his lawsuit, which was dismissed by a circuit judge.