Mississippi voters may vote on a voter ID measure in November 2011, said state Republicans this week. According to the South Mississippi Sun-Herald today:
“State GOP Chairman Brad White told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the party will submit the certified names to the secretary of state’s office on Thursday. That’s the deadline for the party to end a one-year effort to get registered voters to sign petitions.
White said the party has roughly 120,000 signatures certified by local circuit clerks. That’s more than the minimum 17,857 needed in each of Mississippi’s five previous congressional districts.
‘A lot of people after the last legislative session said voter ID is dead,’ White said Wednesday. ‘This is proof it’s obviously not.’
Mississippi lawmakers have fought for more than a decade over whether to require voters to show identification at the polls, with Republicans pushing the issue and many Democrats opposing it.
A voter ID bill passed the Democratic-controlled House in 2009 but was killed by Republican senators in a committee. The senators objected because the bill also would have allowed people to vote several days before an election.”