Oh, what a tangled web we weave … when we try and elect a governor in Mississippi. Nearly three weeks after we cast our votes in the gubernatorial race, we still don’t know who our governor will be.

And we won’t, until Jan. 4 when the Mississippi House of Representatives is seated and its members cast their votes to elect the new governor.

Thanks to our archaic 1890 Constitution, the state’s voters have lost their voice in this election and the final determination of who will lead Mississippi for the next four years lies in the hands of 122 politicians.

Even though Democrat Ronnie Musgrove led Republican Mike Parker in the popular vote — just slightly more than 8,100 votes separated the two — neither earned a majority of the popular vote or electoral vote, both of which are required in our constitituion.

Musgrove earned 49.6 percent of the popular vote; Parker, 48.6 percent; and the remainder was split between two minor-party candidates.

To complicate matters, the electoral vote (based on legislative districts) is split down the middle — 61 for each candidate.

Now, the voice of the people is lost in the decision.

Lawmakers, under the same constitution, are not required to cast their vote based on the votes within their district. Instead, they can vote for whichever candidate they chose.

And we don’t for a second doubt that the outcome of the race will be determined by politics — or more specifically, lobbying and behind-closed-doors deals.

That’s where the process gets tangled, to say the least.

Because no matter which candidate you support – and we still maintain that Parker would make the better governor for our state – you will wonder what promises he is making, what deals his is dealing, what politics he is playing in the next 45 days or so.

And that leaves the integrity of the process, and even the integrity of whoever ultimately wins, in doubt.

In a process frought with confusion and complicated by political motives and ambition, the voice of the people seems forgotten.

Perhaps it will be heard again … when the voters push lawmakers to revamp the Constitution and revise the archaic system that doesn’t provide for a runoff, nor allow election of a governor based on popular vote, without a majority.

In the meantime, we remain caught in the web of politics … and at the mercy of the campaign machine.