Lawsuit: Mississippi has racist way of choosing governors

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – A new lawsuit by three African American residents of Mississippi seeks to block what it calls a racist method of electing the governor and other statewide officials.

The federal lawsuit being filed Thursday seeks an injunction in this year’s elections against using what it describes as a “racist electoral scheme” that “dilutes African American voting strength.”

To win elections in Mississippi, candidates for statewide offices must receive a majority of the popular vote and win at least 62 of the 122 state House of Representatives districts. Mississippi is the only state that requires statewide candidates to win in the majority of state House districts.

The system was put into the Mississippi Constitution in 1890, as white politicians sought to suppress black voting power that emerged during Reconstruction.

The Associated Press received a copy of the lawsuit before it was filed.

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