Mississippi needs to do more to stop voter fraud. Mississippi needs to make changes in voting procedures to make voting more accessible and convenient. Mississippi should always pursue efforts to ensure voter integrity.
There are a lot of things Mississippi could do to improve voting procedures. Voter ID isn’t one of them.
Requiring voters to show a photo identification at the polls would do little or nothing to achieve any of these admirable goals. Still, thousands of Mississippians have signed petitions calling for a voter ID amendment to be added to the state constitution and, in November, voters will most likely do just that.
The voter ID issue has been banging around for years. There have been a lot of accusations, but not a lot of facts. Mainly, voter ID remains a solution in search of a problem. There has not been any major evidence of widespread voter fraud of people voting using other’s identities. It’s just strongly believed by supporters.
Whether it would intimidate elderly Mississippians, especially African-American voters, also remains an unknown. It is just strongly believed by opponents. Both sides rail at one another based on suspicions, suspicions that are racially charged. It’s a divisive issue.
Full Article: Voter ID will pass, but issue not voting | The Clarion-Ledger | clarionledger.com.