Mississippi Today
Federal judge weighs whether state absentee vote-counting law should be struck down before November
GULFPORT — A federal judge on Tuesday appeared undecided over whether he should strike down a Mississippi election law that allows election officials to process mail-in absentee ballots up to five days after an election.
U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola in Gulfport heard arguments from attorneys representing two political parties, a state agency and a veterans advocacy organization over whether the state law conflicts with federal election law.
The state Libertarian Party, the state and national Republican parties and a county election commissioner are the plaintiffs in the suit. They contend the state law runs afoul of federal election statutes because only Congress should set federal election schedules.
Secretary of State Michael Watson’s office, who oversees the agency that administers elections, is the defendant in the suit. His office argues the state law does not conflict with federal regulations and that the political parties have not shown that it diminishes their chances of winning an election.
The Tuesday hearing centered on the legal definition of Election Day, why America has an Election Day and how much leeway states have in administering federal elections.
“The real dispute here is over the meaning of Election Day,” said Conor Woodfin, an attorney representing the Republican Party plaintiffs.
The state law in question is a 2020 state law passed by the Legislature amid the COVID-19 pandemic that allows local election workers to process mail-in absentee ballots for up to five days after an election. The law only permits workers to count the mail-in votes if the ballots were postmarked by the election date.
Woodfin and Russell Nobile, the attorney representing the state Libertarian Party, argue that Election Day ends when election officials receive the last ballot. Under this logic, they claim the state law violates federal law because it extends the election date.
Special Assistant Attorney General Rex Shannon III, the attorney representing Watson, argued Election Day ends when voters cast their ballots in the mail. Since the law requires voters to mail absentee ballots by Election Day, the law is not extending the election.
“Once a voter deposits a ballot in the mail, that vote has been irretrievably cast,” Shannon said.
However, a critical issue that could determine the case’s outcome may not be the lawsuit‘s merits but rather whether the plaintiffs have legal standing to bring the suit in the first place.
The litigation comes at a time when voter confidence in elections is at an all-time low and when candidates have started to dispute election results more frequently.
The state Senate passed a bill to repeal the law earlier this year during the legislative session, but it died in the state House. Senate Elections Chairman Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, said it was time to repeal the five-day window because voters did not like that election workers received ballots after an election.
Guirola asked Shannon “out of curiosity” why the bill failed to gain traction during the legislative process. Shannon responded that he couldn’t answer that question because he was not representing the Legislature in the case — only Watson’s office.
“Well, my curiosity will remain unquenched,” Guirola responded.
Chris Dodge, an attorney representing Vet Voice, a veterans advocacy organization that intervened in the lawsuit, said despite how political groups currently feel about the absentee ballot law, several states have post-Election Day ballot receipt laws on the books to accommodate voters.
“These laws are not the novelties these plaintiffs assert they are,” Dodge said.
Guirola did not issue a ruling on any pending motions on Tuesday because he wanted to review relevant case law and reflect on the oral arguments. The senior status judge said there is, “no category of case that is more critical” than a voting rights case.
“I’m not going to take a vacation or anything,” Guirola said. “This is an important case, and I have to get it right.”
After Guirola’s ruling, an aggrieved party could appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit for a different outcome. But a prompt resolution before November’s presidential and congressional election would be vital. The appellate process is lengthy and time-consuming, and different rulings from the district and appellate courts could lead to voter confusion.
Mississippians can request an absentee ballot application starting September 6, and the earliest day they can vote by absentee is September 23, according to the secretary of state’s elections calendar.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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Mississippi Today
Late and missed Medicaid rides triple the contractual limit in July
Six percent of rides provided by the company that coordinates Medicaid recipients’ transportation to medical appointments – or three times the allowable limit – were late or missed in July.
The company’s first report to the Division of Medicaid since assuming the contract for transportation services indicated that five percent of scheduled rides were late, and one percent was missed, said Medicaid spokesperson Matt Westerfield.
The company’s contract states that no more than two percent of scheduled rides should be late or missed each day.
For-profit, Denver-based Modivcare is working to lower the percentage of rides that are late or missed, said company spokesperson Melody Lai in an email.
“We utilize data and close partnerships with healthcare facilities, transportation providers, and members across the state to continuously improve service,” she said.
Modivcare, which began its three-year, $96.5 million contract with the state on June 8 of this year, scheduled over 52,000 trips with beneficiaries in July.
About 3,000 of the rides were late or missed.
Nearly 40,000 rides were completed after cancellations made by both Medicaid recipients and drivers in July. Thirty-seven trips took 45 minutes longer than average.
Modivcare’s contract mandates it submit monthly reports detailing late or missed trips, along with other information.
Despite filing a public records request, Mississippi Today did not obtain a copy of the company’s first monthly report. The Division of Medicaid indicated that the reports could contain proprietary, third-party trade secrets and that Modivcare had the right to obtain a protective order prohibiting the release of the records.
State Medicaid programs are required to provide rides to doctor appointments to health plan recipients. States can manage the benefit directly, provide the service through Medicaid managed care contracts or contract with a third-party broker, like Mississippi.
Modivcare subcontracts with local transportation companies to provide rides to beneficiaries. Late or missed trips are considered the fault of the transportation companies that provide rides to beneficiaries, Westerfield said.
Mississippi Today last month reported that a woman who uses a wheelchair missed four doctors appointments after Modivcare assumed responsibility for the service in June. She said drivers refused to give her a ride on two occasions because they did not feel comfortable securing her mobility device. On another occasion, Modivcare told her there were no available drivers with the capacity to transport a wheelchair. Another time, the driver did not show up to the location she indicated.
Modivcare’s contract with the Division of Medicaid requires that each wheelchair vehicle have a wheelchair securement device that meets American with Disabilities Act guidelines.
People with disabilities are some of the most frequent users of the service.
Modivcare has been penalized for a high volume of late or missed rides in other states.
The New Jersey Department of Human Services fined Modivcare $1.7 million between 2017 and 2022 for failing to meet its contractual obligations, including missing scheduled pickups, reported the Bergen Record. The New Jersey Legislature considered a bill in 2023 to establish performance and reporting standards for Medicaid transportation services, but the legislation died in committee.
This month, The Maine Monitor wrote that patients have reported missing appointments and being refused rides by the company, which provides transportation services to 16 counties in Maine.
In Georgia, Modivcare and Southeasttrans, another non-emergency medical transportation company, were fined over $1 million from 2018 to 2020 for picking up patients late, KFF reported.
Modivcare was the lowest bidder during the contract selection process in Mississippi. The agency chose it over Medical Transportation Management, Inc., the previous contractor, and Verida, Inc.
Westerfield said that when the number of late or missed trips exceeds the two percent threshold, the division works with the company to correct the issue. If the issue persists, the company will receive official warning letters and the division could choose to seek damages.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
On this day in 1968
Sept. 17, 1968
Diahann Carroll starred in the title role in “Julia” — the first Black actress to star in a non-stereotypical role in her own television series.
She grew up loving singing, dancing and performing in the theater, and she began modeling for Ebony magazine at 15. Three years later, she appeared on the TV show, “Chance of a Lifetime,” taking home the top prize for her performance of the song, “Why Was I Born?” That same year, she acted in the film, “Carmen Jones”, and appeared in the Broadway musical “House of Flowers”.
In her TV show “Julia”, her performance garnered an Emmy nomination for her, and she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series. Mattel even created a Barbie in her image.
After “Julia” ended, she returned to Broadway and Hollywood, earning an Academy Award nomination for her performance in the 1974 film “Claudine”. She went on to portray Dominique Deveraux in the primetime soap opera “Dynasty”. In 1996, she became the first African American to play the role of Norma Desmond in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, “Sunset Boulevard”.
Carroll devoted much of her time to the Celebrity Action Council, which works with women in rehabilitation from problems with drugs, alcohol or prostitution. Eight years before she died in 2019, she was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
Favre loses another round in lawsuit agaisnt ex-talk show host
Former “Undisputed” host Shannon Sharpe remains undefeated in his defense of critical remarks toward fellow NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre.
On Monday, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a request by Favre to resurrect a defamation lawsuit against Sharpe, who said on his Sept. 14, 2023, show that the former Southern Miss and Green Bay Packers quarterback stole funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families government program meant for those living in poverty.
Favre hasn’t been charged in the scandal in which six people have been convicted of state and federal charges involving $77 million in federal TANF funds.
In 2022, the state Department of Human Services sued Favre and many others to try and recoup the $77 million that was illegally diverted between 2016 and 2019. A year earlier, the department had sought to recover $1.1 million in TANF funds that Favre received for speeches he never delivered. (The speaking fees had come through the nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center.)
After a Sept. 13, 2022, article appeared in Mississippi Today, Sharpe said on the Fox Sports show, “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed,” that “Bretty Favre is taking money from the underserved” and that he “stole money from people that really needed that money.”
Favre sent Sharpe a letter, demanding a retraction and asking him to stop making any “further defamatory falsehoods against Favre.”
Sharpe refused, and Favre sued for defamation, saying that Sharpe had falsely accused him of serious crimes and hurt his reputation. Sharpe responded that his remarks are “a classic example of the king of rhetorical hyperbole and loose, figurative language” protected by the First Amendment.
A federal judge ruled in Sharpe’s favor, and so did the 5th Circuit. “Nothing in life or our law guarantees a person immunity from occasional sharp criticism,” 5th Circuit District Judge Leslie H. Southwick wrote.
Favre has paid back the $1.1 million, but State Auditor Shad White said in February that Favre still owed more than $700,000 in interest.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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