Ellington

The voter identification amendment that Mississippians voted in last fall has been generating some discussion on our site the past couple of days. Specifically the debate has centered around comments from Mississippi NAACP president Derrick Johnson, who said recently that voter ID will disenfranchise college students, seniors and blue-collar workers in rural areas.

Given the discussion, I thought it might be helpful to collect our archived coverage on voter ID in one place. Feel free to add more (helpful, evidence-based) links in the comments, and I'll add more from our archives and official sources in the entry as I find them. Here's what I have so far:

Putting a Price Tag on Voter ID (Aug. 31, 2011) - The state must provide free photo IDs to anyone who doesn't have one and can't afford to buy one. Depending on how the law is interpreted, this could cost the state quite a bit of money in free IDs and court costs.

Voter ID: Excessive Regulation? (Nov. 2, 2011) - Mississippi's voter ID law is part of a nationwide trend, but it won't prevent most forms of voter fraud.

Voting Long Under Fire (Nov. 2, 2011) - Historically, some white southerners went to great lengths to keep blacks from voting, using a collection of bureaucratic rules and regulation to disenfranchise thousands. That history is part of the reason voter ID is such an emotional issue.

What's Next for Voter ID? (Nov. 23, 2011) - The Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Legislature will all likely have a hand in deciding how Mississippi's voter ID law will play out.

Right now, two voter identification bills are in the Legislature: HB 921 and SB 2774.

Previous Comments

ID

167342

Comment

I've come around on voter ID. Once, it seemed incomprehensible not to show some sort of government identification before voting in a government election. But then, I remember working at the JFP-sponsored debate. Per strict instructions, all attendees were required to show some form of government identification before entering. We didn't want the "wrong people" showing up to "make trouble." Granted, this was just a mayoral debate with maybe 200 attendees, but the IDs were required nonetheless. Just thinking about the looks of horror I received when I asked for "IDs" still gives me chills. Some simply refused or laughed in my face. It, of course, didn't help that I was a white man, asking for a majority black group to follow my orders. Since then, I've reconsidered my opinion on Voter ID and now stand side-by-side Derrick Johnson in his beliefs; thanks to a bit of maturity and the JFP.

Author

jbreland

Date

2012-03-13T21:26:57-06:00

ID

167345

Comment

Jackson, I don't remember that debate requiring photo IDs to get in. I do know you had to have tickets to get in due to limited seats. My guess is that folks might have had to show ID in order to show they were the person on the list so campaign folks didn't take up all the seats and then boo and jeer (a huge problem at campaign events). And the "government-issued" part is very new to me. Now, if you can't see the difference between an event requiring an ID to prove someone is on a list to attend (a privilege and invitation to a privately sponsored event) and the need to show an ID (or get a special one) in order to vote (a basic constitutional American right), then you might need to come intern with us again. As for you changing your mind, it surprises me to hear that you ever were against voter ID. Although ... I am perpetually surprised to see conservatives requiring a government-issued ID in order to do anything, much less vote, especially considering it costs the taxpayers money and is regulation with no evidence that it is needed. Y'all sure have changed. Aside from so-called "conservative" devotion to corporations and corporate welfare no matter what they do and ridiculous culture-war battles, I'm more conservative than most of you calling yourself conservative. Most of you just want to cherry-pick regulation: good if it helps you and yours and your ideology; bad if it doesn't.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2012-03-14T08:24:31-06:00