Secretary Hosemann says it is time to make voting easier in Mississippi. He says the changes will make it easier to cast ballots, harder for someone to cheat the electorate, and provide severe penalties for those who do.
"Pre-election voting is what people want. They don't want people sending out bogus mailers. If somebody is cheating on their vote, they want them to be prosecuted. They want it now, and it's time for Mississippi to be at the forefront," says Hosemann.
Democratic Senator David Blount of Jackson, has been pushing for early voting and online registration for the past 3 years. He says he is pleased with Hoseman's proposed reforms - saying "it just makes sense".
"It saves money and the people of Mississippi want it. It makes our relations more open and more efficient, so I'm very optimistic that it will get a fair hearing, and I think it will be good for Mississippi," Blount says.
Blount who is working closely with the Secretary of State, is looking to file another bill on voting and registration as early as next week. However, he says he hasn't looked closely at Hosemann's proposal.
Senator John Horhn of Jackson, who is also a Democrat, agrees with the concept of updating the election laws. However, the 400 or so page document of proposed changes causes him some concern.
"Anytime you have a document that size, you never know what things are in it that might be detrimental to the overall process. It's too much of an opportunity, in my opinion, that you can put a few snakes in there," says Horhn.
Hosemann also wants to shorten the timeline - from 10 days to 48 hours - for political committees to report their spending. He also wants candidates to give itemized listings of campaign expenses paid by credit card. He proposes moving Mississippi's presidential primary to the same date as many other Southeastern states, starting in 2020.
