OPINION: Watson’s Voting Views: Dressing Jim Crow Up in New Clothes
"In the shadow of Mississippi’s incredibly fraught history with voting, (Mississippi Secretary of State Michael) Watson rails against the bogeyman of potential voter fraud with the clear intent to keep minorities from voting."
Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann's office has finally placed alerts on the department's official ...
Hosemann's Data Prove Him Wrong
Bad public policy, like bad personal decisions, takes a lot of justification to get folks in your corner.
Voter Exit Poll 'A Waste'
After spending $34,000 in taxpayer funds to poll Mississippi voters Nov. 6, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann's new exit poll has confirmed what voter ID opponents have been saying all along: Those most at risk for disenfranchisement under voter ID laws are black, poor or young.
Gov. Phil Bryant Says Voters Should Voluntarily Show ID
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said Wednesday that he thinks it would be a good idea for people in the state to voluntarily show identification when they vote, even though it's not required by law.
How Big Business Wants to Shrink the Electorate
Astonishing. Remarkable. Sinister. Those are words that come up again and again when confronting the wave of voter-identification laws that has swept through more than 30 Republican-dominated state legislatures in recent years.
Hosemann's Office: No Voter ID Needed
Up until recently, a Mississippi citizen looking for voting information on the secretary of state's website might have been confused.
Hosemann: Give Voter ID Facts Straight
Since last fall's successful referendum requiring Mississippi citizens to show a government-issued photo-identification card, mass confusion has ensued about when and if the law would ever go into effect.
Hosemann: Miss.Voter ID May Fare Better in Court
Mississippi's photo voter identification law may stand up better to legal challenges because the state has made plans to provide free identifications in many locations, the secretary of state says.
Hosemann's Voter ID Subterfuge
Nowhere does the secretary of state's website make it clear that the Mississippi's voter-identification law, which the Legislature and governor approved in May, will not be in effect for the November election.
Black, Latino Churches Using 'Souls to Polls' to Rally Vote
It's not just the collection plate that's getting passed around this fall at hundreds of mainly African-American and Latino churches in presidential battleground states and across the nation.
Voter ID, Early Voter Laws in Battleground States Face Courts Before Election
A series of court battles in several states may determine, over the next several weeks, everything from how people cast their votes, when polling locations will be open and what ballots will look like. Many cases have a partisan bent, with rulings potentially tipping the scales slightly in favor of Democrats or Republicans.
Federal Court Rejects Texas Voter ID Law, Calls 'Unforgiving' to Poor, Minorities
A three-judge panel in Washington unanimously ruled that the law imposes "strict, unforgiving burdens on the poor" and noted that racial minorities in Texas are more likely to live in poverty.
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Voter ID Laws
Voter IDs laws have become a political flashpoint in what's gearing up to be another close election year.
Where Voter ID Stands in Mississippi
After years of unsuccessfully trying to get the Mississippi Legislature to pass a voter ID law, last November, state conservatives put the issue of voter ID to the state's voters.
NAACP: No Voter ID Expected for November Elections
There will be no voter identification requirements at the polls in Mississippi this November, according to state NAACP president Derrick Johnson.
Defending Voter ID
Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann vehemently defended the state's ability to provide free Ids for its as-yet approved Voter ID law, issuing a scathing retort July 26 to "The Challenge of Obtaining Voter Identification," a report issued July 17 by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.
'Quagmire' of Voter ID
After Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann's scathing retort yesterday to "The Challenge of Obtaining Voter Identification," the Brennan Center for Justice is standing by its conclusions.
UPDATED: Hosemann: Brennan Center 'Deceptive'
Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann barely stopped short of calling the Brennan Center for Justice a pack of liars.
Voter ID Affects Minorities
Hours for voter identification offices could affect rural African American voters.
Study: Voter ID a Barrier
Barriers resulting from the new voter ID laws may well prevent numerous potential voters from showing up at the polls.
The Challenge of Obtaining Voter Identification
The Challenge of Obtaining Voter Identification
Voter Fraud Problem?
Backers of voter identification in Mississippi and other states say the laws will eliminate voter fraud--but it may be a solution looking for a problem.
Free Voter ID Will Cost ... But What?
Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann announced yesterday that his office will be "proactive" and distribute free voter ID cards to anyone who does not have the proper identification. But his office does not yet have a vendor in place to make the cards or know how much they're going to cost the taxpayers.
Bryant Signs Voter ID Bill
Despite Gov. Phil Bryant signing the voter-identification bill recently passed in the Legislature, the measure isn't law just yet. The federal government still has to OK the controversial measure before it can take effect.
Voter ID Planning Begins
Valencia Robinson, founder and executive director of Mississippi in Action, an advocacy group, sat at a table in the front of the room and riffled through brochures and printouts from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the Mississippi Secretary of State's office, trying to sort out the requirements of the voter identification initiative that passed last week.
What's Next for Voter ID?
With her hand pressed to the side of her face in a sign of frustrated concentration, Valencia Robinson, founder and executive director of Mississippi in Action, sat at a table in the front of the room and riffled through brochures and printouts from the ACLU, the Department of Public Safety and the Secretary of State's office.
Putting a Price Tag on Voter ID
The debate surrounding voter ID in Mississippi has focused on political and historical arguments, rather than funding. While its proponents have lauded voter ID as essential for preserving the democratic process, opponents have claimed it is an effort to discourage African Americans and other minorities from voting—especially those old enough to remember Jim Crow-era tactics such as poll taxes.
Voter ID: Excessive Regulation?
In 2005, Noxubee County Democratic Executive Committee Chairman Ike Brown decided to go the extra—and illegal—mile to get votes for African American candidates, according to court records.
Poll: Many Blacks Undecided About Voter ID
Nearly 40 percent of African American voters are unsure how they feel about a voter-identification initiative on the 2011 statewide ballot, a new poll shows. Speaking at Koinonia Coffee House's Friday Forum this morning, pollsters Pam Shaw and Brad Chism said that one of the more surprising findings from a series of polls they conducted in the first quarter of 2011 was the high degree of uncertainty about voter ID among younger African Americans.
UPDATED: Voter Suppression Growing Nationwide
CNN is reporting:
The voter-purge machine is kicking into overdrive this week. Down below, and in the comments, we will keep you apprised of stunts being pulled, so we can watch for them here on the homefront. Please add to the list as you see examples.
