Mississippi voters Tuesday adopted Ballot Measure 2, which would remove the electoral vote requirement for elections to statewide offices, including the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor and secretary of state. Prior to the amendment, the state constitution of 1890 required statewide office candidates to secure both popular and electoral majorites under Sections 140 and 143. According to poll results, 78.22 percent have voted in favor of the measure.

The proposal for the amendment was introduced by Representative Charles Beckett, and was approved by the House and Senate with votes of 109-6 and 49-2 respectively. The proposal came after a federal lawsuit by four African Americans who had argued that the requirement for a majority of electoral votes violates the US Constitution and the Voting Rights Act by being racially discriminatory.

The plaintiffs had alleged that the system preferred white candidates who were more likely to win an electoral majority without a popular majority “due to racially polarized voting and the geographic and electoral concentration of the racial groups among the House districts.” The county unit system weighted votes differently based on the voters’ place of residence and thus violated the Fourteenth Amendment.

Although a federal district judge concurred with the plaintiffs that the electoral vote requirement could be unconstitutional, he denied the application for a preliminary injunction on grounds of public interest. Later, a stay order was issued so the state could address the issue in its legislative assembly and consider amending the provision.

Previously, in case of a tie, the Mississippi House of Representatives would vote to choose the winning candidate; now, a runoff election will be held if neither candidate receives a majority.