Complex sentence: The Mississippi Secretary of State, Democrat Eric Clark (who will leave office in January 2008), the state's chief elections officer, backs the governor's position based on a technicality in the letter of the law.
Split into simpler sentences: The Mississippi Secretary of State, Democrat Eric Clark (who will leave office in January 2008), is the state's chief elections officer. He backs the governor's position based on a technicality in the letter of the law.