Judge orders special election in Hinds County after finding mishandled primary materials

Special Judge Barry Ford ordered a special election for the Hinds County District 2 supervisor seat within 45 days, saying Wednesday that significant errors in the safekeeping of 2023 Democratic primary materials made the result unverifiable, according to Ford’s ruling.

Ford cited testimony from Circuit Clerk Zack Wallace about the lack of a chain of custody for voter materials. “I cannot determine the will of the voters,” Ford said. “And case law says when the will of the voters cannot be determined, then a do-over is required,” the judge said in court, as reported by Mississippi Today.

District 2 supervisor Anthony “Tony” Smith will remain in office until the special election. Smith told Mississippi Today he does not plan to appeal the ruling and said he is confident he can defeat former Supervisor David Archie again.

Archie, who sued over the 2023 primary, told reporters outside the courthouse that the ruling matters for all voters. “No matter what your party is … if you are a voter, Hinds County now will take your vote serious, based on the outcome of this case today,” Archie said, according to Mississippi Today.

Warren Martin, an attorney for Smith, criticized the ruling and said it effectively invalidated votes in the majority-Black district. “Today a specially appointed circuit judge invalidated 8,000 Black votes in Hinds County District 2,” Martin said. He also said Wallace, not Smith, should be held accountable for the missing materials, Mississippi Today reported.

The legal proceeding began in February. Both sides rested April 29, and a group of election commissioners met with Ford through May 15 to advise him on their findings, Mississippi Today said. The news outlet also noted it updated its coverage to clarify that Ford’s ruling focused on mishandling of election materials that made the primary results unverifiable.

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