Landrum: No Answers on No Vote

Clarion Ledger - Candidate sticks to story - Republican congressional candidate David Landrum and his wife continue to stick by their story that they voted in Hinds County in 2003 in the Republican primary and general election for Gov. Haley Barbour. But evidence they voted doesn't exist.

The Clarion-Ledger reported Sunday that Landrum insisted he and his wife, Jill, have voted for Barbour in every election they could since 2003 and pointed to signatures in the Hinds County voters register as proof. But two signatures he claimed belonged to his wife actually belonged to other people.

In response to that story, Bill Lampton, campaign chairman for David Landrum for Congress, sent out an e-mail to supporters. "David tells me that he and Jill vividly remember voting in those elections that the newspaper questioned," Lampton wrote. "David sent a staffer to find their signatures and confirm. Unfortunately, a press release was sent out by the campaign staff without David's knowledge and approval. It never occurred to either David or Jill to verify the signatures. David accepts responsibility for an honest mistake." Last week, Lampton repeatedly told The Clarion-Ledger the signatures were his and his wife's. He went on Supertalk Mississippi (WFMN-97.3 FM), where host Paul Gallo asked, "Were those, on the record officially, your signatures?" Landrum responded, "Yeah, they were my signatures." On Tuesday, Forbes said none of the signatures identified as belonging to Landrum or his wife were theirs.

In an e-mail sent out Tuesday to "friends and family," Landrum's wife wrote she recalled vividly voting each time. She wrote that she saw her purported signature on Feb. 26 and let it be known it wasn't her signature, but Landrum never mentioned that fact to The Clarion-Ledger when asked about the signatures.

Connie Cochran, chairwoman of the Hinds County Election Commission, said each voter who arrives to vote must sign the voter register. She said those voting by affidavit ballot must sign where it says "Affidavit Voters"; those voting by regular ballot must sign where it says "Poll List."

The voters register used for the August 2003 primary at Precinct 78 in Hinds County shows 19 people voted by affidavit ballot. Another 364 voted by regular ballots. None of the 19 signatures listed for the affidavit ballots appears to match the signatures of Landrum or his wife.

The voters register used for the November 2003 general election at Precinct 78 in Hinds County shows 35 people voted by affidavit ballot. Another 656 voted by regular ballots. None of the 35 signatures listed for the affidavit ballots appears to match the signatures of Landrum or his wife.

Some of the affidavit ballots are missing from the August 2003 primary for Precinct 78, and Landrum insists his and his wife's votes are among those missing. But even if those ballots are missing, Cochran said Tuesday, the couple's signatures still would appear on the Voters Register. "Their name is supposed to be on there. It should be on there," she said. "You don't go to the machine (to vote) until you've signed."

On Tuesday, Republican opponent John Rounsaville, who first made an issue of Landrum not voting, said voters still deserve a clear explanation. "David Landrum publicly stood by those signatures for over a week, and now he's trying to claim he never saw or approved them," Rounsaville said. "The bigger picture is that the voting records show that David Landrum didn't vote at all between November 2000 and November 2007. And he's still not explained that."

According to Madison County records, Landrum registered to vote there in 1991 and his wife registered three years earlier. On the county's older computer system, which followed elections up until 2005, the last time Landrum was listed as voting was November 2000. On the county's new system, which has followed elections since 2005, the only election in which Landrum is listed as having voted is the general election last November.

Landrum has said he did vote in the 2007 Republican primary in Madison County. He has said the voting records there are simply wrong and that he was told a computer glitch was responsible. Campaign officials say they may be able to release more information today that will shed light on this.

Rounsaville said Tuesday that Landrum has failed since 2002 to vote for the very congressional seat for which he's asking for voters' support, noting that "2002 was the big race between Chip Pickering and Ronnie Shows. Voting is a fundamental duty of citizens and especially for someone running for Congress or any elected office."