Southaven, MS—
FAST FACTS:
- Voter ID seen as a way to eliminate fraud
- Legislators refuse to pass
- Citizens demand a vote through referendum process
dennis.turner@wreg.com
(Southaven, MS 3/9/2010) Next fall, voters in Mississippi will decide what to do about eliminating voter fraud.
For years lawmakers have talked about addressing the issue, but never could decide.
Now, voters have taken the initiative and have demanded a public vote.
We've all heard the stories about dead people voting. Well, a new voter ID law would supposedly cut down on that, because it would require a current picture ID to cast a ballot.
Lawmakers have debated requiring picture ID to cast a ballot. Now, voters themselves have demanded to see the issue put up for a vote.
More than one hundred thirty thousand voters across Mississippi signed petitions to put the issue on the fall 2011 ballot.
Kim Westmoreland of Walls, thinks it makes sense. "When I go in to vote they usually just take my card and assume it's me, and I think seeing a picture of me assures them I'm the one that's supposed to be voting." she explained.
Objections in the legislature have come up based on civil rights concerns, that poor people often don't have picture ID's and such a requirement would be intimidating.
But people from all walks of life in DeSoto seem to agree, it's time to put voter fraud behind them, and they see this as an important tool.
"There's so much fraud goin' on, I think that showing your picture ID, you have to show it everywhere else, I think to vote is a good idea." said Barbara Edwards of Horn Lake.
Petitioners were required to get more than 89-thousand signatures statewide, with a minimum of about 18-thousand per congressional district.
The result, with 131-thousand, far surpassed that requirement, sending the issue directly to the fall 2011 ballot. "I think it's a great thing. It think it'll solve a lot of problems." said Westmoreland.
And how much do voters in DeSoto County want to see this voter ID question resolved?
A County-by-County breakdown of petition signatures showed eight thousand signatures.
That's at least two thousand more, than the next nearest county on the petition list.
