The Mississippi Supreme Court has overruled a lower judge’s ruling to dismiss an election challenge lawsuit filed by former Hinds County Supervisor David Archie.
Archie, who formerly served District 2, took to the courts to contest the results of the Aug. 8, 2023, primary election runoff in which he was ousted by Anthony Smith to represent the Democratic Party. According to results certified by the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office, Smith had gotten 67% of the vote, whereas, Archie earned 33% of the ballots cast.
Archie argues that the software used for the election promoted certain candidates over others and that former election commissioner Toni Johnson was at fault. Johnson had previously been indicted for alleged fraud, embezzlement, and accepting a bribe in a separate case.
Archie appealed the results of the election to the Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee on Aug. 31, 2023. Those efforts proved fruitless as the committee deemed Smith the rightful victor. Archie’s next move was to appeal the ruling to the Hinds County Circuit Court.
The former supervisor brought his petition for appeal, which was dated to have been signed and notarized on Sept. 7, one day past the 10-day filing deadline. The appeal was promptly thrown out by Judge Barry W. Ford because of the tardiness of the filing. Nonetheless, Archie took to the state’s high court claiming that he was wronged by county officials.
Archie claims he went to the courthouse to file his appeal on Sept. 7, but the circuit clerk’s office was locked and the lights were off due to a massive cyberattack that had plagued the entire county. According to court records, the doors to the circuit clerk’s office were closed around noon.
Hinds County Circuit Clerk Zach Wallace, on the other hand, argued that his office was not closed and that Archie could have called him to resolve the matter on Sept. 7. Wallace was unable to address contentions that the lights were off and nobody was present at his office. He did, however, note that Archie could have left his filing in a drop-off basket outside the clerk’s office.
The high court ultimately sided with Archie, noting there was insufficient evidence that the clerk’s office was open when Archie went to bring his petition.
“The only issue on appeal is whether the circuit clerk’s office was open or closed on September 7, 2023, because Archie’s deadline is statutorily extended if the last day fell on a day on which either the courthouse or the circuit clerk’s office was closed,” a portion of a release from the Mississippi Supreme Court reads.
“The circuit court hearing in the case did not consider sufficient evidence to determine whether the circuit clerk’s office was open or closed. Consequently, this Court vacates the circuit court’s judgment and remands the case for a more thorough evidentiary hearing.”
As a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Hinds County Circuit Court will now determine whether Archie’s election challenge will be able to move forward.
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