The Mississippi Circuit Court is expected to issue an order by March 11, on whether Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale should be on the ballot this year. Mississippi holds all its elections for state office in the odd year before presidential elections. Therefore, the voters are choosing state executive positions (including Insurance Commissioner) and the entire state legislature this year.

George Dale was kept off the Democratic primary ballot because he had endorsed President Bush for re-election in 2004. Dale sued the party on March 22. At the first court hearing, on April 27, he said he would rather run for re-election as an independent. In the meantime, the party had changed its mind and said it would let him run for re-election as a Democrat. But, after he said he would rather be an independent candidate, the party changed its mind again and said now he can’t run as a Democrat. A new round of briefings was then permitted. Dale’s brief of May 7 argues that he should be permitted to collect 1,000 signatures as an independent and file them within 14 days after the court order (whenever that is, although it should be in two days or less). The independent petition deadline was March 1. Dale argues in a footnote that the deadline is unconstitutional, but the main thrust of his brief is that the deadline should not be applied to him in this situation, since he couldn’t have predicted that the party would reject him. Dale also says that if the court won’t give him any relief on running as an independent, he asks that he be allowed to run in the Democratic primary. Thanks to Steve Rankin for obtaining George Dale’s brief.