Election Security Tops Secretary of State’s Priority List

Tupelo, Miss. (Daily Journal)-

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann is touting continuing efforts to strengthen the electronic security of the state’s voting system even as he fears that voter mistrust in ballot security may foster apathetic turnout.

Hosemann said he’s been focused on cybersecurity efforts for years now. The 2016 presidential election strengthened his resolve to continue such measures.

“I think 2016 just brought to light some of the fears I had,” Hosemann told the Daily Journal during a visit to Tupelo on Tuesday.

The secretary of state described ongoing but unsuccessful attempts to hack into the state’s electronic voting systems, including digital voter registration records, prior to the most recent presidential election.

“We were having probably 2,000 to 3,000 active penetration attempts a month,” Hosemann said. “It just highlighted for me that we have to have significant security.”

Encryption, additional fire walls and two-factor authentication are among the measures now in place to guard the state’s election infrastructure.

Two-factor authentication, for example, requires that local election officials, including election commissioners and circuit clerks, verify themselves with the secretary of state’s office before locally logging into a statewide voting system.

Money for local cybersecurity will also be available to Mississippi’s counties from the federal government and the secretary of state’s office.

And even as he vouches for the safety of electronic voting, Hosemann suggested some counties may want to consider taking a fresh look at paper ballots.

“I’m hopeful that more people will look at that, at the paper system,” Hosemann said.

Lee County is one of only seven counties in the state using paper ballots, which are then electronically scanned ahead of vote counting.

Supervisors in Lee County have been adamant in recent years that they want to retain the paper-based system.

However, Hosemann also fears a more homegrown threat to election integrity: apathy. He described turnout during primary runoffs in June as abysmal.

About 13 percent of registered voters participated in primary elections early in June.

A speaking appearance before the Tupelo Rotary Club Tuesday offered Hosemann an outlet to promote his message to local voters that their ballots count and are safe from disruption attempts.

In a fresh get-out-the-voter effort, Hosemann’s office is also unveiling a program to vote in honor of a soldier. Participants can submit information about a military service member and receive a sticker to wear when casting a ballot.

Hosemann also hopes that with two U.S. senate seats on the ballot this November, voter interest will be higher in the fall.

“You’d think people would be interested in taxes and whether or not we go to war and who sits on the Supreme Court, but we’ll see,” Hosemann said.

Original Source: Daily Journal

Website for Defrauded Investors Announced by SOS

Jackson, Miss. (News Mississippi) –

Months after a man was charged for his role in a multi-state Ponzi scheme, a website has been created by a court-appointed receiver to help provide information to defrauded investors.

The Ponzi scheme scammed more than 250 people in 14 states out of over $100 million and led to 58-year-old Arthur Lamar Adams being charged with two counts of wire fraud involving a scheme to defraud investors, and one count of bank fraud, all in connection with a Ponzi scheme using Madison Timber Properties, LLC, a company owned by Adams.

Adams began defrauding investors as early as 2011 and solicited millions of dollars of funds under false pretenses, failing to use the investors’ funds as promised, while instead using it for his own personal gain without the knowledge of the investors.

Potential investors received letters this week from attorney Alysson L. Mills of Fishman Haygood, LLP, who was appointed the receiver of Adams’ and Madison Timber’s estates by a federal court in June 2018, and from the Securities Division of the Secretary of State’s Office.

The Secretary of State’s Office is working cooperatively with Receiver Mills to solicit additional information from investors to aid in a timely recovery of funds and assets for the benefit of defrauded investors.

“One of the most important things investors can do right now is to preserve financial records and documents,” said Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann. “This includes agreements, letters, e-mails, or checks, or anything else in writing relating to an investment in Madison Timber. “Our collective goal with Receiver Mills is to identify losses and gather assets of Mr. Adams and Madison Timber.”

The new website includes responses to frequently asked questions from investors, contact information, and official Receiver Reports. The first Receiver Report is due to the federal court on August 21, 2018.

Original Source: News Mississippi

Secretary Hosemann Takes Aim at Fraudulent Veterans

Jackson, Miss. (Sun Herald)-

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE MISSISSIPPI ATTORNEY GENERAL

The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office and Secretary of State’s Office join the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and law enforcement officials and charity regulators from every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, and Puerto Rico in announcing “Operation Donate with Honor,” an education campaign alerting donors to fundraising solicitations falsely promising donations to veterans and service members.

The effort is also supported by the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board and Mississippi National Guard.

“Giving back to our veterans who have sacrificed so much for our freedom is a worthy cause, but, unfortunately, it has also become a common way to scam people out of money and veterans out of resources,” said Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood.

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann agreed.

“Mississippians are the most generous people in the Nation, always answering the call when it comes to our veterans and service members,” he said. “Operation Donate with Honor continues our Office’s position to ensure funds donated are received by those who need it the most.”

Operation Donate with Honor was developed by the FTC and the National Association of State Charity Officials (NASCO), the association of state offices charged with oversight of charitable organizations and charitable solicitations in the United States. The initiative pairs enforcement actions with an education campaign to help consumers recognize charitable solicitation fraud and identify legitimate charities.

Veterans fundraising fraud schemes target potential donors online, via telemarketing, direct mail, door-to-door contacts, and at retail stores, falsely promising to help homeless and disabled veterans, to provide veterans with employment counseling, mental health counseling or other assistance, and to send care packages to deployed service members.

Many schemes solicit nationwide.

Stacey Pickering, Executive Director of the Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board, and Lt. Col. Christian Patterson, Director of Public Affairs for the Mississippi Military Department, echoed the importance of this educational initiative.

“On behalf of Mississippi’s over 200,000 veterans, I want to thank Attorney General Hood and Secretary Hosemann for their leadership and protection of our Veterans and their benefits,” Auditor Pickering said. “Our Veterans have stood in the gap to protect our nation; it is only right that we stand in the gap to show them our appreciation and eternal thanks.”

“All efforts to prevent our Mississippi National Guard Soldiers, Airmen and family members from being targets of fraud are greatly appreciated,” Lt. Col. Patterson said. “The ‘Operation Donate With Honor’ partnership will be a strong tool for consumers as they continue to support our force into the future.”

Tips to remember when donating to a charity include:

Ask for the charity’s name, website, and physical location;
Ask how much of any donation will go to the charitable program you want to support;
Check the Secretary of State’s website to see whether the charity is registered in Mississippi: http://charities.sos.ms.gov/online/portal/ch/page/charities-search/Portal.aspx;
Search the charity’s name online with the word “scam” or “complaint.” See what other people say about it;
Check out the charity’s ratings at the Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Watch, or Charity Navigator;
Never pay with cash, a gift card, or by wiring money; and
Consider paying by credit card, but never over the phone, and only after receipt of written information you can verify.

For more information about charities and charity laws in Mississippi, visit www.ago.state.ms.usor www.sos.ms.gov/charities. More information from the FTC is accessible at www.FTC.gov/Charity.

Original Source: WLOX

Secretary of State Welcomes Greenwood Students to Capitol

Greenwood, Miss. (Greenwood Commonwealth)-

It’s been a big summer for kids at the Greenwood Mentoring Group.

Last week, students from the after-school tutoring program’s summer session went to the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County and made a stop at the beach in Biloxi before heading back to Greenwood.

Wednesday, a smaller group will visit the historic Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson at the invitation of Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, who will personally lead them on a tour.

“Mr. Hosemann sent us a letter last year commending our work,” Greenwood Mentoring Group Director Bill Clay said. “We invited him to come to our prayer breakfast this year, but he was unable to come and instead sent a video, thanking us for our work.”

Terrence Course of Greenwood, who works for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Jackson, is a supporter of the mentoring center’s work. He saw Hosemann recently at a Jackson restaurant and engaged in a conversation with him.

“I thanked him for his support,” Course said. “We talked, and Mr. Hosemann was passionate about the work going on here in Greenwood and said he’d like to spend some personal time with the kids, so I helped arrange a visit.”

On Wednesday, 10 to 12 students, likely older kids from the 10- to 13-year-old range, will travel with Clay to Jackson for a special tour of the Capitol conducted by Hosemann.

“He’ll be explaining the function of his office, how state government works, and what goes on there,” Clay said.

The kids will come back and write reports about what they learned, as they always do following such trips as these.

Last week, younger and older kids alike reported on their outings to the Stennis Center, a rocket testing site of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and their trip to the beach at Biloxi–which, for many, was a first.

“We talked about the sound of the ocean, what lives in the sand, what lives in the ocean. It’s a great opportunity for our kids to make trips like these,” Clay said.

Hosemann first learned of the work of the Greenwood Mentoring Group through an article in the Delta Business Journal.

“We’ve had an ongoing conversation with him since then,” Clay said.

Original Source: The Greenwood Commonwelath

81 Percent of Mississippians Support Voter ID

Jackson, Miss. (Millsaps)-

Survey Finds Mixed Support for Electoral Reforms, State Elected Leaders

Mississippians support several potential policy changes to help improve the state’s electoral process, including the expansion of early voting and automatically registering eligible voters upon turning 18 years of age. According to the newly released July 2018 Millsaps College-Chism Strategies State of the State Survey, voters strongly favor the state’s existing Voter ID law and are evenly split on whether state and municipal elections should be moved to weekends instead of Tuesdays. Meanwhile, the survey finds that voters are skeptical of treating Election Day as a holiday for Mississippi workers, using a vote-by-mail system, and allowing for online voter registration.

Voters ranked repairing the state’s roads and bridges as their top policy priority, making this the fourth consecutive quarter in which the electorate indicates that they want Mississippi’s leaders to address this problem above all else. According to the survey, 35% of respondents believe that the state is on the right track as opposed to 29% who sense that it is on the wrong track. The survey also includes approval ratings of numerous elected officials and finds that Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann remains among the most popular elected leaders in the Magnolia State. Nearly 50% of Mississippi voters approve of the job being done by Hosemann as opposed to just 14% who disapprove of his work.

“Mississippi is entering a three-year period of perhaps the most important consecutive election cycles that the state has seen in decades,” said Dr. Nathan Shrader, assistant professor of political science and director of American Studies at Millsaps College. “The 2018, 2019, and 2020 elections will be vitally important to the state and her citizens, yet voter participation in the 2018 primary and primary runoff elections was distressingly low. Our objective with this survey was to explore the extent to which Mississippians are open to modernizing or adjusting our current electoral system to perhaps improve our weak voter participation rates. Among our most consequential findings is that Mississippi voters have identified fixing roads and bridges and increasing funding for public schools as their top policy priorities for the fourth consecutive quarter. This demonstrates stability among the public’s policy preferences in these areas.”

Other key survey findings from the Millsaps College-Chism Strategies State of the State Survey:

Election Laws

57% favor allowing for early voting while just 25% are opposed.
49% support and 37% oppose automatically registering eligible Mississippians to vote when they turn 18 years of age.
39% oppose moving all Mississippi elections to weekends while 38% support the move.
49% oppose making Election Day a holiday for workers in Mississippi and 42% are in favor.
56% support continuing with in-person voting while only 6% back using mail-in-voting. Another 37% favor utilizing a mixture of in-person and vote-by-mail elections.
81% favor maintaining Mississippi’s Voter ID law.
47% oppose online voter registration while 38% support such a change.

Elected Official Ratings

48% approve of Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann’s job performance while 15% disapprove.
37% approve of State Treasurer Lynn Fitch’s job performance while 17% disapprove.
Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney has a job approval rating of 31% and a disapproval rating of 14%.
29% of Mississippi voters approve of Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson’s work while 11% disapprove.
Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley has a job approval rating of 29% and a disapproval rating of 13%.
State Representative Mark Baker (a declared candidate for Attorney General in 2019) has an overall approval rating of 14% and a disapproval rating also of 14%.
Only 22% approve of the work being done by the State Legislature with 35% disapproving. The difference between those who approve and disapprove of the legislature’s performance is consistent with the previous two State of the State Surveys.

Policy Priorities

25% of respondents say that fixing roads and bridges is their most important priority. This is the fourth consecutive quarter where it has topped the list of concerns expressed by the voters.
More funding for public schools (22%) and making healthcare more affordable and accessible (18%) were the second and third highest ranking policy priorities.

“Chism Strategies is pleased to team with Millsaps College to measure public sentiment on different ways to make voting easier in our state,” said company president Brad Chism. “We look forward to the legislature’s consideration of all the options for increasing voter participation in Mississippi and this data should make for an informed debate.”

The survey was conducted June 28-29. The sample size of 623 with 67% of interviews conducted via landline and 34% via cell phone. The survey has a Margin of Error of +/-4.0 %. Results were weighted to reflect likely 2018 general election turnout for age, race, gender, and partisanship.

Survey Results

Summary Findings

Original Source: Millsaps College

SOS Partners With Bayside Park to Provide Playground

Hancock County, Miss. (WLOX)-

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann makes a guest appearance in the season premiere of Fit to Eat. Watch the episode July 14 at 1 p.m. and July 15 at 10 a.m. on MPB Television.

On the show, Hosemann and Chef Rob prepare a flavorful blueberry BBQ pork loin served with garbanzo bean salad. Just perfect for a summer gathering!

“I always love learning from Chef Rob, one of the premier culinary experts in Mississippi,” Hosemann said. “The dish we prepared was inventive and full of flavor, and the recipe was easy to put together. Thanks to Fit to Eatand MPB for allowing me to stop by.”

Fit to Eat combines local, fresh ingredients and easy recipes to bring healthy cooking instruction to Mississippi homes. Watch Saturdays at 1 p.m. and Sundays at 10 a.m. on MPB Television.

Stay tuned in July to watch Mississippi personalities help Chef Rob get dinner on the table:

Bill Ellison, host of MPB Think Radio show Grassroots, cooks turkey sliders on sweet potatoes with Moroccan salad — July 21 at 1 p.m.
State Representative Jay Hughes cooks black bean Dijon burger with sweet potato crisps and grilled tomatoes — July 28 at 1 p.m.

Other guests this season include Joff Clarke, Gulfport’s Bayou View Fitness owner; Dave Kimmel, Mississippi Aquarium President and CEO; and MPB hosts Marshall Ramsey and Libby Hartfield. View the full schedule online.

Original Source: MPB

Restoring Properties to Tax Rolls a Priority for Secretary of State

Jackson County, Miss. (Mississippi Press) –

Want a home in the heart of downtown Ocean Springs? It can be yours for about $60,000 — just one of nearly 400 Jackson County homes, businesses and properties up for public auction.

Bidding began Wednesday morning on 376 tax-forfeited properties in Jackson County, with a total estimated value of some $1.6 million, according to Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, whose office handles the auction.

The properties are spread throughout the county and include parcels within all four municipalities.

“Online auctions are a great tool for local communities because they make it easier for citizens to purchase property forfeited to the State for nonpayment of ad valorem (property) taxes,” Hosemann said. “Formerly neglected properties are restored to the tax rolls and the money raised is distributed to cities, counties and schools.”

The estimated market value of the properties range from a low of $800 to the aforementioned $60,650 for a home near the intersection of Government Street and General Pershing Avenue in downtown Ocean Springs.

Bidding will continue through 11:59 p.m. on July 25. Bidders must register online at the secretary of state’s website. Once registered, users may view property details including parcel location, legal description and an auction map.

Also included are estimated market values, although the market values listed are for informational purpose only. A true price will be provided once an application is submitted to acquire the property. Hosemann’s office will extend an offer price which may be accepted or rejected.

And, in true eBay fashion, the auction also offers a “Buy It Now” feature for those of an impatient nature, allowing them to purchase a property immediately rather than waiting until the end of the auction next month.

Successful bidders will be notified by email shortly after the auction ends and payment for the property must be submitted within 15 days of receipt of that notification.

Original Source: GulfLive.com

Secretary of State’s Office Focused on Improving Election Day Turnout

Vicksburg, Miss. (Vicksburg Post) –

With no local elections on the ballot and voting limited to people who voted Democrat earlier this month or didn’t vote at all, turnout in Tuesday’s Democratic Senate primary runoff was dismally low in Warren County and throughout the state.

Bay St. Louis state representative David Baria defeated venture capitalist Howard Sherman of Meridian for the right to face incumbent Republican Senator Roger Wicker in November. Wicker easily defeated his lone challenger June 6 and has represented Mississippi in the Senate since 2007.

Baria and Sherman faced off in Tuesday’s runoff after being the top two vote getters in the June 6 primary where no candidate in a crowded field received 50 percent of the vote. Sherman was the top vote getter the first time around, but Baria easily defeated him Tuesday with 59 percent of the vote.

In Warren County, Baria made big gains after finishing third June 6 to win the county over Sherman 871 to 548. Tuesday’s election was not open to the 2,158 people who voted Republican June 6, but of the remaining 23,529 people who were eligible to vote, only 1,412 or 6 percent of the voters turned out.

Warren County Election Commissioner Sarah Dionne estimated that Tuesday’s election cost “in the neighborhood of $50,000” to operate because even with the low turnout they had to open and operate all 23 precincts in the county.

“It is a very sad situation,” Dionne said of the turnout. “It is an indication of our voter apathy that on these important election where we are electing our representative to make federal law and we have a 5 percent turnout.

“It is even lower than I expected. I was expecting about half of last time and this is even below that.”

The June 6 election, which was open to all voters in Warren County, saw less than 4,000 people cast a ballot for a turnout of 15.24 percent.

The low turnout numbers were a theme throughout the state, and Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said although this is a party run election and not a state run one, he was still concerned by the lack of turnout.

“I have been opposed to the state running the party primaries,” Hosemann said. “The impetus for voters to cast a ballot for their candidates and to invigorate the population to go cast a ballot, that falls squarely on the parties and their candidates. That being said, I was disappointed in the turnout. I was hoping that it would be more than 5 percent of the people in the state.”

Hosemann added they have already began meeting about how to improve the turnout in November when both Mississippi Senate seats will be voted on following Thad Cochran’s retirement earlier this year.

“We use public service announcements to do that. We have Brett Farve, Malcolm Butler, Morgan Freeman,” Hosemann said. “We are trying to touch people with public service announcements to remind them to cast their ballot. We are hopeful you will see us reinvigorate people to cast a ballot.”

Original Source: The Vicksburg Post

Secretary Hosemann, Developer Negotiate $140 Million Investment in Mississippi Gulf Coast

Biloxi, Miss. (Sun Herald) –

The impasse is over and now an amusement park complete with a giant Ferris wheel and other rides and outdoor attractions can move forward at Margaritaville Resort Biloxi.

A press conference Tuesday afternoon announced the agreement between Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann and Biloxi Lodging LLC, which is the developer of Margaritaville Resort Biloxi.

Biloxi Lodging will invest about $140 million to develop Phase II of Margaritaville with carnival rides and a new hotel tower immediately to the west of the current resort.

A large Ferris wheel overlooking the water is in the plans already being designed by the engineers and architects, said Cono Caranna, spokesman for Biloxi Lodging and Margaritaville.

“We’re now going to start looking for the newest and coolest outdoor attractions to go in the park,” he said. “We’re going to bring something everyone is going to be proud to have on the Coast.

Caranna said they anticipate adding 600 jobs to the 700 current employees at the resort.

Plans for the amusement park were held up for about two years in the dispute over the land south of U.S. 90. Under the agreement, the state’s ownership of the land is confirmed and Biloxi Lodging will pay $655,700 in rent each year into the Tidelands Funds.

“At a proposed $140 million investment, including hundreds of new jobs, the leasing of state-owned tidelands properties for Margaritaville — Phase II is excellent news for Biloxi, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and the state,” Hosemann said in a statement. “This development should produce millions of dollars for the Tidelands Fund — all of which is spent on the Coast. The project will be another great reason for citizens all over the State and visitors to spend one more day on our Mississippi Gulf Coast.”

Biloxi Lodging estimates Phase II of Margaritaville with its amusement park and hotels will bring more than 1 million new visitors a year.

The current Margaritaville Resort Biloxi has an indoor zip line roller coaster, climbing wall, ropes course and a variety of games and virtual attractions.

Caranna said that since Hurricane Katrina, when so many family-friendly parks were lost, getting them back on the beach has been the number one request.

“This will add more excitement and thrills for all ages,” Caranna said of Phase II.

Barrington Development, the company that restored the former Casino Magic into the new Margaritaville Resort, also restored the White House Inn on U.S. 90. The company also is restoring the former Santa Maria del Mar senior housing in Biloxi into Watermark Suites Hotel. In Gulfport, the company is restoring buildings at the former VA property on the beach into a hotel at Centennial Plaza, and is restoring the Markham Hotel in downtown Gulfport.

The company opened a second Margaritaville Resort opened last weekend in Vicksburg.

Original Source: The Sun Herald

Hosemann: Educated Workforce Vital to State’s Future

Starkville, Miss. (Commercial Dispatch) –

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann sees an educated workforce as the key to a strong economic future for the state.

Hosemann, speaking to the Starkville Rotary Club on Monday, said that doesn’t necessarily mean a four-year college degree for everyone. He said emphasizing job paths available through career tech centers is also going to be a very important part of bolstering Mississippi’s workforce for the future.

To make the point, he referenced a February meeting in Columbus at the Lowndes County School District career tech center. At that meeting, he said, some area businesses, especially those in the construction field, pointed out that they have jobs ready for trained workers, but applicants are few and far between.

“Taking that silo, where we have a university, junior college, a high school, all of that needs to be towards one goal and that one goal would be to have an educated workforce,” he said. “And about 60-70 percent of that educated workforce will not have a college degree. That’s critical — I want you to have that college degree if that’s what you want to do. If you want to work with your hands and be a plumber, you can come to Jackson in the winter and make a million dollars.”

Hosemann said businesses back him up. In a November survey his office conducted of about 1,500 businesses, about 30 percent of limited liability companies and 35 percent of corporations responded that an educated workforce is the most important aspect for their business, higher percentages than for any other factors the survey asked about, such as communication skills, financial resources and community support.

However, in a May survey that drew responses from about 3,500 businesses, about 70 percent of LLCs and corporations that responded said they were not interested in partnering with educational entities at all levels to help grow the workforce.

Still, Hosemann said he saw a bright side in the responses because about 400 businesses said they would be interested in forming those partnerships. He said those businesses getting involved can help change attitudes around the state and encourage other businesses to get more involved in education.

“Four hundred businesses contacted us who want to get involved with their local schools,” he said. “That’s the way you move the needle. We intend to continue to do that.”

Hosemann said the way toward improving Mississippi’s workforce must include exposing students to different career paths earlier in their educations. That will play a key role, he said, in helping to expand Mississippi’s workforce.

The state’s unemployment rate is low, he said, but Mississippi still has room to grow for improving overall workforce participation.

The unemployment rate measures only those adults who are looking for work.

“The most significant number that we have in Mississippi is not what our percentage unemployment is,” he said. “It is workforce participation. We are at 55 percent between 18 and 64 (years old). That number is one of the lowest in the country.

“If there were 65 percent working, we could build bridges everywhere,” he continued. “We could have schools everywhere. We’d have plenty of money to go around. We’d have another 100,000 or 200,000 people working in Mississippi.”

Elections

Hosemann also reminded Rotarians to vote in Tuesday’s runoff election. The state saw dismally low turnout in the June 5 U.S. House of Representatives and Senate elections. Tuesday, the state will vote in a Democratic runoff between David Baria and Howard Sherman. U.S. House of Representatives District 3, which includes Oktibbeha County, will have a Republican runoff between Michael Guest and Whit Hughes.

Hosemann said he doesn’t expect turnout to be much better than the initial election, which barely cracked 10 percent.

“If any of you vote, and I hope every one of you does, you’re going to vote for nine other people,” he said. “Only about 10 percent are going to show up for (District 3 House of Representatives) here, and United States Senate here.”

Speculation has swirled about whether Hosemann will seek the governor or lieutenant governor’s seat in next year’s gubernatorial election. When asked by The Dispatch, he remained coy about exactly what his plans are but said he will not seek another term as secretary of state.

He said he feels like he’s accomplished what he set out to do for the office, with voter ID, modernizing the department and improving its business outreach. He said changes to absentee voting, which he has pushed for several years, are anticipated to be a major discussion for next year’s legislative session.

“You hired me to do that and I did that and I think it’s time for somebody else and maybe they’ve got a better idea on how to do something,” he said. “I won’t be running for secretary of state again.”

Original Source: The Commercial Dispatch