The audio version of this story is AI generated and is not human reviewed. It may contain errors or inaccuracies. While Speaker Jason White said he did not pressure House members for their support to garner the narrow 61-59 margin to pass his massive school choice/voucher bill, he at the least had a laser-like understanding of how representatives were going to vote. Normally, during final passage of a bill in the House, the speaker opens the voting machine and then asks three times “has everyone voted” before closing the machine. When it came time to vote on the controversial school choice/voucher bill, White opened the machine, which displays on two giant boards on the House floor how members are voting, and asked twice “has everyone voted?” Before he repeated that phrase the third and final time, he took the unusual move of interjecting, “waiting on the gentleman from Grenada,” presumably Republican Kevin Horan. White then asked, “anyone else?” Without the momentarily delayed vote of the gentleman from Grenada, the bill would have passed by a one-vote margin instead of the two-vote difference. A tie vote would have been a rejection of the bill. The bottom line is that White can say he did not apply pressure, as he told reporters after the vote earlier this month, but it was obvious he had a clear understanding of the members’ votes he needed to pass his signature bill for the 2026 session. Being able to see the members vote on the giant screens can be a powerful influencer. Former House Speaker Billy McCoy used to say he lost only one vote as Education Committee chair. It was on a bill that allowed public schools to offer preschool classes. He said he lost the vote because then-Speaker Tim Ford held the machine open an unusual length of time and a handful of members got cold feet and changed their votes before Ford closed the machines. It is not likely that Ford was intentionally trying to sabotage the bill from McCoy, a fellow Democrat. After all, Ford voted for it. House Speaker Jason White, R-West, addresses state representatives as the House prepares to debate House Bill 2 on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, at the Capitol in Jackson. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today After the closeness of the recent vote on the school choice/voucher proposal, it became questionable whether the bill would ever leave the House and advance to the Senate, where opposition to sending public funds to private schools seems even more intense. The Mississippi Constitution gives any member the authority to hold a bill – after a final vote – on a procedural move called a motion to reconsider. The voucher bill was held on a motion, meaning it would require another majority vote to pass and advance to the Senate. There was at least a little uncertainty on whether the bill could garner another majority. After all, two Republicans did not vote. One of them, Rep. Price Wallace of Mendenhall, said he was absent because of commitments on his family farm, but if he had been there he would have voted no. The other – Rep. Clay Deweese of Oxford – was apparently in the Capitol or close by, but did not vote. It is not known for certain how he would have voted. But Bradley Roberson, the school superintendent in Deweese’s hometown of Oxford, has been a vocal opponent of spending public funds on private schools. In the end, though, the motion to reconsider was disposed of on an anticlimactic voice vote and the bill was sent to the Senate. It was a bit surprising to many that the opponents of the bill – all of the Democrats and 17 of White’s Republicans – did not demand a recorded vote that would have been visible on the two giant boards in the House chamber. But, perhaps the thought was that at this point it was better to keep the coalition opposing the bill publicly together and not give someone, though White says it would not be him, the opportunity to twist arms to get additional votes for the bill. The bottom line is if the bill passes the Senate there will be at least one other vote – perhaps multiple votes – on the bill in the House, and members already have taken a tough vote on the measure. It is likely that if the Senate does kill the bill, White and his allies will attempt to amend another bill and reintroduce the school choice effort. Knowing that, perhaps members thought there was no need to have another tough vote this early in the session. Additional tough votes would come later. And White says he will not be pressuring members – just reminding the gentleman from Grenada to vote. ...read more read less