His opponent Court of Appeals Justice Latrice Westbrooks denied the allegation and stated that state and county records that she voted twice were incorrect. According to a spokesperson, Griffis claimed Griffis was “scrambling” days to steal an election. Griffis was temporarily appointed by the governor to his high court seat last year. He said that Westbrooks voted in the primaries in Lexington, Holmes County, and Jackson, Hinds County on May 2, 2017. Two votes were cast on the same day according to records provided by Griffis’ campaign from the county circuit clerks offices. Mississippi Today obtained voting records from the Mississippi secretary-of-state’s office through a public records request. They match this. After reviewing the files, Phelton Moss Westbrooks’ campaign spokesperson stated in writing Wednesday that she could confirm and prove that this didn’t happen. Judge Westbrooks categorically and unambiguously denies that she voted for Hinds County in 2017. Judge Westbrooks categorically and unconditionally denies that she voted for Hinds in 2017. “Since Judge Westbrooks gave that information to the media, there has not been a 2017 Hinds County election poll book containing her signature.” Click here for Latrice Westbrooks’ Holmes County voter record. Click here to view Latrice Westbrooks’ Hinds County voter record. Multiple requests for comment were not immediately answered by the Holmes or Hinds circuit clerks on Wednesday. James Reed, Hinds County Election Commissioner, says that the county usually destroys voting records within two years. He isn’t sure if the commission would still have municipal voting records. On Wednesday, the Jackson city clerk was not available for comment. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History lists of records retention regulations states that voter receipts and poll books must be kept for two-years after the election. After that time, they can be destroyed. After an election, counties must send electronic copies of voter records to the secretary-general’s office. The state law states that anyone voting in more places in any county or in the same city during an election… “Shall, upon conviction be imprisoned or fined not greater than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or both.” Griffis declined to comment, but his campaign released a statement. Conrad Ebner was Griffis’ campaign treasurer. He stated in a statement that it is a routine, normal course of action for campaigns checking the voting history of their opponent. After waiting for months on documents from Holmes County Circuit Clerk, the campaign received official documentation on October 27, stating that Latrice Westbrooks had voted in the same election on May 2, 2017. This was in Holmes County as well as in Hinds County. Mississippi needs judges that follow the law and not break it. “Electoral integrity is an essential part of our democracy. We need judges who follow the law, not break it.” The Griffis campaign stated that it had to file a complaint with the state Ethics Commission before Westbrooks’ records would be provided by the Holmes County circuit clerk’s. This was months after the initial request. According to the Griffis campaign, it received the Holmes County voter profiles on Oct. 27. The campaign claimed that this is why the public allegations against Griffis are so late in the campaign prior to the Nov. 3 elections. Moss’s Westbrooks campaign statement continued, “Judge Westbrooks is a long-standing champion for voter rights, voter education, and has a deep understanding of the law. This is nothing but our opponent and his campaign trying to steal the election from Central District One voters. Mississippi voters have had enough of the same old tricks. The future of Mississippi is on their ballots and our opponent knows this. On Nov. 3, we have the opportunity to elect a judge who has proven herself. Judge Westbrooks would use her experience to defeat her opponents at any time, and that should be our focus as we march towards Election Day.” Westbrooks of Lexington was elected to the Mississippi Court of Appeals 2016 in 2016. As an assistant district attorney in Harrison, Hancock, and Stone counties, she was the first African American woman to be appointed as assistant DA. Westbrooks was the city attorney for Isola and Durant’s prosecutor. For nearly ten years, she was Holmes County’s public defender. She also served as legal counsel to the Jackson Police Department as well as as a municipal judge in Lexington. The state Supreme Court removed Westbrooks’ name from the 2012 ballot in order to make way for a Court of Appeals candidate. The state Board of Elections, which includes the governor, secretary of the state and attorney general, ruled that Westbrooks didn’t live in the area where she was running. Westbrooks appealed, and a Hinds County Circuit Court Judge ordered that her name be put back on the ballot. However, the state’s highest court overturned the decision, and removed her name from it. The then-Gov. Griffis appointed Griffis of Ridgeland to the Supreme Court. Phil Bryant was appointed to fill the position of Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. who resigned at the end January 2019. Griffis, a Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge from 2003 to his appointment to the Supreme Court, was the chief judge of the appellate courts at the time of his appointment. READ MORE: We asked Mississippi Supreme Court Candidates why they are running for office in the November 3 election. Here are their positions on key issues. While the Mississippi Supreme Court races do not have a political component, Griffis has been supported by the Republican Party of Mississippi and Westbrooks has the support and endorsement of many Democratic state leaders and groups. This race is for District 1, the central Mississippi high court seat. Nearly 1 million people live in the district. It is almost evenly divided according to race, partisanship, and urban/rural populations. It includes the counties of Bolivar and Claiborne. The nine-member Mississippi Supreme Court is currently composed of one woman, despite the fact that Mississippi’s female population makes up over 51%. If elected, Westbrooks would become the first African American woman to sit on the state’s highest court. It currently has one Black justice. This would be the first time that two African American justices have sat on one court in Mississippi’s history. READ MORE: Two Black justices could be elected to the Supreme Court in November, making it the first time that two African-American justices have been appointed to the court.