QUICKTHREAD: This lawsuit was assigned to Chief Judge Jordan, a George W. Bush appointee who has already delivered victories to voting-rights plaintiffs twice in 2020.
Jordan's assignment is excellent news for the plaintiffs and terrible news for Sec. Watson and AG Fitch. 1/
Jordan's assignment is excellent news for the plaintiffs and terrible news for Sec. Watson and AG Fitch. 1/
Jordan presides over the O'Neil v. Hosemann case filed in 2018 over Mississippi's now-abolished rule that mail-in ballots be received the day prior to the election. Jordan initially ruled that the requirement made absentee voting "tight—if not impossible" for some voters. 2/
Jordan set the O'Neil v. Hosemann case for a pretrial conference in May 2020, and the #MSLeg immediately repealed the requirement at issue, such Mississippi now counts absentee ballots postmarked by election day as long as they are received within five days. 3/
Jordan also presides over the McLemore v. Hosemann case filed in 2019 alleging that Mississippi's mini-electoral college is indistinguishable from a Georgia electoral system that SCOTUS ruled unconstitutional.
"Theyre right," Jordan ruled. 4/
"Theyre right," Jordan ruled. 4/
As with the O'Neil case, the #MSLeg acted promptly this year to moot the McLemore case and avoid certain defeat at trial in Jordan's courtroom. The Legislature put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to repeal the mini-electoral college. 5/
In his role as chief judge of Mississippi's southern district, Jordan has remained keenly attuned to the pandemic's status in Mississippi—certainly more so than many of Mississippi's elected officials. 6/
As chief judge, Jordan is responsible for the district's emergency response and regularly enters and updates orders to reduce and limit in-person activity in the district's courthouses.
For example, two pages from Jordan's most recent special order are below. 7/
For example, two pages from Jordan's most recent special order are below. 7/
Notably, Jordan currently finds that the pandemic is severe enough to suspend jury trials. To that end, it would be difficult to argue that a pandemic is severe enough to suspend the constitutional right to a speedy trial yet not severe enough to protect voters. 8/
NOTE: Here's a nice voting-rights citation from Judge Barbour, a colleague of Chief Judge Jordan's in the southern district. This quote from Judge Barbour also refers to mail-in voting. 9/
