Two sources, a Jackson deputy city clerk and a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Secretary of State, say that state law does not recognize write-in candidates except in certain instances. Mississippi Miss. Code Ann. § 23-15-365 (2013) § 23-15-365 addresses write-ins, and states:

(1) There shall be left on each ballot one (1) blank space under the title of each office to be voted for, and in the event of the death, resignation, withdrawal or removal of any candidate whose name shall have been printed on the official ballot, the name of the candidate duly substituted in the place of such candidate may be written in such blank space by the voter.

(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to elections conducted under the Nonpartisan Judicial Election Act.

Look for updates as we find out more.

Whitwell denied involvement with the write-in campaign effort. He wrote on his public Facebook page:

"I am flattered by the suggestion that I should run for Mayor. However, I had nothing to do with the email sent around. If I were mayor I would focus on cultivating business in Jackson, curbing crime and getting everyone working together for all Jackson... However, as a current council member, I plan to use my voice over the next four years working with whomever the public elects."

MDOC Communications Director Grace Fisher emailed after the story and provided the following information:

MDOC’s deficit is not only from inmate growth, but also two federal court orders and critical capital improvement needs. (The info is in the January news release you cite.)

The inmate custody population in January was 22,346, and the total inmate population was 26,135, according to our fact sheet posted on our web site.

In response to a question from you, you were told the total cost of an execution is $11,000. Therefore, how are the executions breaking the agency’s bank, or how is the state spending millions of dollars on executions?

Six are the most executions the agency has had to do in one year (2012) – that’s 6 X $11,000. MDOC’s 2013 fiscal budget, minus the deficit request, was $339,130,424. (The number is in the January news release.)

It's not that tangential. When I was there yesterday, I got an earful from an employee who said my stories got her trouble. I haven't heard any more about the forms, but I'll check with the NAACP when I talk to them this week.

Under the MHC's guidelines the developer must manage the project for 15 years.

To be clear, the word lobby here is used in the broad sense and not to represent that Chapman officially lobbied the governor's office.

Would you be willing to talk about your family's experience? Reply or email me through the site. Or call 601-362-6121 x 12. Thank you.

*Verbatim statement from the Mississippi Democratic Party:*

democrats demand bryant retract voter i.d. comment

jackson-Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Rickey Cole issued the following statement:

“In an apparent end-run around federal law, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant today called for voters to ‘voluntarily’: show identification in the upcoming November 6 General Election. Bryant made these statements knowing full well that there is no requirement for identification in this election. By pandering to the tea party extremists, Bryant has deliberately created confusion among voters and election officials with less than six days to go until the election.

There is NO need for voters to show identification at the polls on Tuesday. Elections officials and poll workers have already been trained to that effect. Bryant’s comments create unnecessary confusion, and will likely result in delays at the polls November 6. We demand that he retract his comments immediately, and that the three members of the State Elections Commission issue a joint statement to the public that NO identification will be required on Tuesday.”

Methinks happyjack must have been in my 3rd grade class (or has the brain of a 9-year-old), because that's how long people have been using the Ryan "Naive" joke. Second, who said I was anti-gun? As a wise man once said: "You can have my guns -- when you pry them from my cold, dead hands." I feel same way....about bacon.

correction: jackson, Miss. (AP) — a Sept. 21 story, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Mississippi leads the nation in the rate of incarcerated people per 100,000 residents. The Bureau of Justice Statistics says Mississippi was No. 2 in the nation, behind Louisiana, in 2010, the latest period for which data was available. The story was about the challenges facing the Mississippi Department of Corrections as its inmate population grows.