This fall in Mississippi, a group of elected officials could block the candidate who wins a majority of statewide votes from assuming the Governors Mansion and the attorney generals office. And it would be completely legal.

Thats because of a long-overlooked provision in the states 1890 Constitution . The measure requires candidates for statewide office to win not just a majority of the vote but also a majority of the 122 districts in the state House. If a candidate wins a majority of the statewide vote but not a majority of the districts, the members of the Republican-controlled state House choose who wins the election. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, the Mississippi House of Representatives picks a winner from the two candidates who received the most votes.

The provision has received little attention until recently, when four Black Mississippi voters filed a federal lawsuit arguing that it discriminates against African Americans. Although Black people make up 38% of the state, they are a majority in only 42 of the states 122 House districts, according to NPR . The provision was part of an explicit effort during Mississippis 1890 constitutional convention to suppress the Black vote, experts say, and has helped keep Black people out of statewide offices for years. It could do the same in the next election, when attorney general candidate Jennifer Riley Collins seeks to become the first Black statewide-elected official in nearly 150 years.

Collins, a Democrat, along with gubernatorial candidate and current Attorney General Jim Hood (D), who is white, could win a majority of statewide gubernatorial votes but not a majority of the House districts.

Thats unless a federal judge strikes down the constitutional provision. A federal judge in Jackson is set to hear oral arguments in McLemore v. Hosemann on Friday.