Voter ID Making Headway at Statehouse

Legislation requiring Mississippians to show ID at the polls has been in and out of the state legislature for almost a decade. As MPB’s Stephen Koranda reports, this year it seems to be making headway.

Lawmakers have been at odds over some provisions of voter ID, but not as much as in previous sessions.

“The good news is that I think there’s an agreement here that the time has come for us to address voter ID,” says Democratic Representative George Flaggs of Vicksburg

Flaggs has opposed voter ID in the past because it could stop some people from voting. He says a bill will likely make it to the House floor this week that has early voting and same-day registration to help reduce this concern.

“Early voting and same-day registration allows any voter, anywhere, to be able to cast his vote, because you have multiple days to be ready to vote. The problem is now, if you ask them to require all these things in one day, they may be delayed,” says Flaggs.

The house legislation would accept several forms of ID, including utility bills and bank statements. The senate has passed a bill with a stronger requirement for photo ID only. Senator Terry Burton of Newton is Chair of the Elections committee. He's been pushing for voter ID as a way to prevent voting fraud.

“I will take the Senate position to conference if we get that far, and I will argue the Senate position as long as we can hold it,” says Burton.

Burton says the Senate may be open to early voting as part of a package.

“But we need to make sure we have a process in place that works for us. We are different from other states, in that the state doesn’t’ run all elections. So we’re going to have to have a process in place that’s affordable, manageable and free from fraud.”

Around 25 states have some kind of voter ID requirement. 7 states require a photo ID.