According to the Secretary of State’s Office, Jackson-McCray won by 14 votes in the Nov. 5 general elections. According to Mississippi Today, Henley filed an election challenge Wednesday. Henley claims that several of the results of her ballot box inspection show that she failed to “adher to proper electoral procedures to insure fair and legitimate elections” as required by state law. State Rep. Ashley Henley Election Challenge. Text. Her specific grievances are: Inability to collect signatures in one precinct and no incident report explaining why they weren’t collected. Henley also claims she discovered: two uncounted paper votes in which Henley’s names were marked; eleven voters who voted within a precinct where no records of their residency could be found; voter receipts that weren’t stapled to the pages of the voter receipt books; and several ballots that were “unaccounted for/missing”. Henley stated that there were “irregularities that occurred, absolutely, documented and very much so that it brings into question the legitimacy” of the election results. Jackson-McCray stated Thursday that Henley’s challenge was “much to do about nothing.” Elections are elections. Jackson-McCray stated that Henley’s challenge is not guaranteed. “Anybody could go along and beat you. You just won me square. This time, hard work beat you. While she has the right to explain the details, I believe she is arguing that her party did not manage the election correctly. Republicans won the election. Republicans are the DeSoto County election commission members. The Secretary of State of the United States is a Republican. Republican Speaker Philip Gunn of Clinton could not be reached for comment Thursday. Candidates have 30 days to file challenges after the election. Each chamber of the Legislature is empowered to seat its members. The Legislature also has the right to hear election challenges if the results are not clear. Jackson was polarized by the House’s most recent legislative challenge in 2015. Four years ago, the Republican-controlled House voted to seat Republican challenger Mark Tullos, R-Raleigh, instead of Democratic incumbent Bo Eaton of Taylorsville. Tullos and Eaton received the same number of votes on Election Day. Eaton won the election, as required by state law. He drew the correct straw in an event overseen and managed by the state Election Commission. But Tullos then challenged the results of the tiebreaker, and the Republican-controlled House opted to seat him. Tullos’s seating gave Republicans a three fifths supermajority which they continue to maintain. Five affidavit votes were the basis of the decision to remove incumbent Eaton, who has been in the House since 1996. At hearings of a special House Committee, testimony revealed that five of the five ballots were cast in Smith County by voters who lived within the challenged House District. 79. These five voters went to their precincts to cast their ballots under their new addresses on Election Day 2015. They weren’t on the voter rolls at their new precincts as they didn’t notify the circuit clerk about their change of address. However, they were permitted to vote by affidavit. The Secretary of State’s Office informed the Smith County Election Commission that all registered voters must be counted after the election. This was evident from testimony. The election was tied after those votes were counted. Tullos claimed that a ruling by the state Supreme Court meant those affidavit votes shouldn’t count during the election contest before a special House committee. According to the Eaton camp, the Supreme Court decision was based upon a law governing municipal elections. He also argued that both the attorney general’s and secretary of state’s offices have consistently stated that such affidavit votes, if cast by registered voters should count. The House could revoke the House District 40 results which Henley requested in her petition. It could also hold a new election, or seat one of the candidates, under state law. To support this important work, you can make a regular donation to the House today as part of our Spring Member Drive.