On Wednesday, former State Rep. Erik R. Fleming, along with the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, the state conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and others will host the 4th Annual Mississippi Voter Registration Day at the Medgar Evers Library, 4215 Medgar Evers Blvd., Jackson, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Local radio station, WJMI, will host a live remote in front of the library.
July 2 is the birthday of Mississippi Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers. While in the Legislature, Fleming authored a bill to have this day declared Mississippi Voter Registration Day.
The purpose of the event is to make sure that individuals with felony convictions understand their voting rights. According to national surveys, more than 140,000 Mississippians have lost their voting rights as a result of felony convictions. Most Mississippians who have been convicted of a felony do not know their voting rights once they’ve completed the terms of their sentences. This event will also educate citizens about the state law and legislative and legal processes to have their voting rights restored.
According to the state Constitution, 10 felony crimes take your voting rights away. Those are: murder, rape, bribery, theft, arson, obtaining money or goods under false pretenses, perjury, forgery, embezzlement or bigamy. The Attorney General and the Secretary of State added 11 additional crimes in 2005 that expand the definition of theft. The ACLU is currently challenging the addition of those crimes.
“As we saw with the recent municipal, state and presidential elections, every vote is important. But even with such a significant demonstration of democracy, especially in 2003 and 2004, a number of citizens have still not entered this process,” Fleming said in a press release issued Monday.
The NAACP, ACLU and Fleming are part of the Mississippi Voter Empowerment Coalition, a group formed to ensure that every adult citizen in Mississippi can vote.
Local News
Mississippi Voter Registration Day to be celebrated at Medgar Evers Library
- Local News
-
-
High Honor
The flowers and balloons Crestwood Elementary School Principal Kimberly Kendrick received at school Monday were not an early Valentines' Day gift.
Kendrick has been named Meridian Public School District's 2012 Administrator of the Year – an announcement that both surprised and wowed the 17-year veteran educator when made by MPSD Superintendent Dr. Alvin Taylor. -
Master Dance Class
-
Digital system promises better communication
Hopefully in the near future you won't hear someone in the emergency services ask over the radio, "Can you hear me now?"
A digital communications system, one which is being pushed by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), is a few months away and, in some cases, is already in the testing phase in Lauderdale County. -
Inmate escapes custody
Mississippi Department of Corrections officials said Monday afternoon an inmate escaped from custody Friday and is still being sought.
Officials said Johnny Hall Jr. escaped from two Wilkinson County Correctional Facility officers’ custody while being escorted from his father’s wake at the Picayune Funeral Home in Picayune. Preliminary information indicates Hall left the officers and jumped into a waiting black vehicle with a white female driver. -
Citizen’s Police Academy begins today
The work law enforcement conducts on a daily basis is often misunderstood by the general public.
Officials at the Meridian Police Department developed a program to inform and educate citizens on what police do in serving and protecting the population. The program, The Citizen's Police Academy, has been gaining speed for a couple of years since it was first offered. Officials said it shows residents are interested in police work and how it is conducted. - Woman: decongestant brought meth charge in Alabama
-
Star Of The Week: Dominique Goodwin-Jenkins
-
SoMiSPO brings steel drum rhythms to MCC
-
About face
Nothing is forever in the military and after a months-long battle to secure a C-27J Spartan flying mission and its field training unit at Key Field and the 186th Air Refueling Wing, it seems all of that is flying the way of the KC-135 tankers that used to fill the skies over Meridian.
- Marriages & Divorces: Sunday, February 5, 2012
- More Local News Headlines
-
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day
Raw Video: Giants Celebrate Another Super Bowl
Cab Driver Helps Wis. Family Escape House Fire
Greek Leaders Seek Deal As Bankruptcy Looms
Bernanke: Recovery Depends on Consumer Spending
Staff Removed at LA School During Abuse Probe
Eastwood in Super Bowl Ad 'Compassionate'
Stranded Fishermen Rescued From Bay of Green Bay
Analyst: Outside Troops Won't Intervene in Syria
Police: Father Planned Deadly Fire for Some Time
US, UK Pressure on Syria; More Homs Violence
Raw Video: Mass Killer Wants Medal, Freedom
Court Strips Contador of Tour De France Title
Runaway Goat Leads Police on Wild Chase
And the Winner for Best Super Bowl Ad Is...
Romney Latest Poll to Join Let-me-explain Club
