Voter ID initiative gets needed signatures

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March 9, 2010

from staff reports The Meridian Star The Meridian Star Tue Mar 09, 2010, 08:30 AM CST

MERIDIAN —     The Voter Identification Initiative in Mississippi has gotten enough signatures to be placed on the 2011 general election ballot, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann announced Monday.

    "After a thorough review and count of the signature certifications sent to us by the petitioners of the Voter Identification Initiative, we are pleased to say the voters of the State of Mississippi will be able to cast their ballots for or against a voter identification requirement in this state," Hosemann said.

    Petitioners are required to gather a minimum of 89,285 certified signatures to get an initiative on the ballot, with at least 17,857 certified signatures from each of the five congressional districts as they existed in the year 2000.

    "In my opinion a fair vote on this issue is long overdue, and I am pleased with this long and arduous process," Hosemann said, adding that the number of signatures gathered by petitioners far exceeds the 89,285 required for a successful initiative.

    The initiative received a total of 131,678 signatures, 26,582 of which were from the 3rd Congressional district, which includes Lauderdale County. A total of 3,273 signatures were garnered in Lauderdale County.

    Republican organizers submitted the signatures last month, and the secretary of state’s office spent weeks double-checking the numbers.

    Mississippians will be asked to decide whether the state constitution should be amended to require each voter to show a government-issued photo identification at the polls.

    Supporters say voter ID would help deter fraud, while opponents say it could decrease turnout among older black voters who were once subject to Jim Crow laws.

    The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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