Legislature to blame for Court killing initiative process

The Mississippi Supreme Court this week struck down the constitutional ballot initiative process in a 6-3 ruling, stating the process “cannot work in a world where Mississippi has fewer than five representatives in Congress.”
Writing for the majority, Justice Josiah Coleman said, “To work in today’s reality, it will need amending – something that lies beyond the power of the Supreme Court.”
That power lies first and foremost with the Mississippi Legislature, which for nearly 20 years has ignored the issue that led to the Supreme Court’s ruling.
When the initiative process was created in 1992, Mississippi had five congressional districts. According to state law, for an initiative to be placed on the ballot, signatures must be gathered equally from all five congressional districts. Following the 2000 Census, the state lost a congressional district, dropping the number to four.

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