6/08/2014

"Mississippi sails through voter ID test"

It is hard to think of a more flawless experience with any voting experience.  From the Clarion-Ledger:


A Pike County poll worker mistakenly told a person he couldn’t cast a ballot without an ID, said county Election Commissioner Trudy Berger.
“It was a misunderstanding,” Berger said. “We trained on it that nobody is ever told they can’t vote, period. As soon as we heard that had happened, we sent an election commissioner down there to solve the problem.”
According to the new law, voters must present a driver’s license or other government-issued ID to cast a ballot through the normal process. Those without ID can vote by affidavit ballot, after which they have five business days to show an acceptable form of photo ID, or apply for a Mississippi voter ID card, at the circuit clerk’s office.
The Secretary of State’s Office was notified of the incident, Berger said. But beyond that, the agency had few calls about voter ID issues. . . . 
Voters expressed little, if any, inconvenience at the polls due to the new law.
Madison County resident Meme Wittmayer said it was hassle-free. . . .
Some types of IDs are interesting:
Mississippi’s law says voters can show one of 10 types of government-issued photo identification, including a driver’s license, passport, gun license or student ID from any accredited public or private college. For the past several months, people who lack an acceptable form of ID have been able to go to an election clerk’s office to get a free, state-issued voter ID card with name, address and photo. . . .
Student IDs seem a little suspect and easy to forge.

Before the vote the Washington Post noted that not everyone was thinking that it would go smoothly.
Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson said the civil rights group will pay attention Tuesday to ensure that no one is prevented from voting.
“We do understand that the state of the law has changed because of the Supreme Court decision, but the rights of voters have not changed,” Johnson said. . . .

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