Dear Editor:
Two weeks after the election held on Nov. 7th, the MS. Secretary of State's Office could not provide any election statistics. So, the numbers used here were obtained from local media and a Google search. Using these numbers, a post-election autopsy reveals the following:
Mississippi has 2,246,323 eligible voters of a total population of roughly 3 million people. On Nov. 7th, a total of 809,847 Mississippians voted in the governor's race. In other words, only 36% of eligible voters, for whatever reason, bothered to vote.... just 36%. Furthermore, of that 36%, 418,233 voted for Tate Reeves, who is against Medicaid expansion while 391,614 voted for Brandon Presley, who is for Medicaid expansion. This means that 13.9% (those who voted for Reeves) of the state's total population ensured that the state will not expand Medicaid. In other words, they voted AGAINST the creation of 16,000 jobs, against receiving ONE BILLION federal dollars every year, against bolstering the viability of rural hospitals, and against giving 250,000 hard working poor Mississippians access to medical care. This data seems to indicate that the average Mississippian is complacent about the status quo, which reinforces our national ranking as the sickest and most unhealthy state in the nation. Congratulations, Mississippi.
Camille Wright
