Election integrity is an important aspect of a free society. Voting and choosing who will represent us in government is a duty that every citizen must exercise. The key word in that sentence is “citizen”. A nation can not remain free, nor can we truly have a representative government if the representatives are selected by someone other than those being governed.
We must have faith in our election system for our government to work properly.
One important way to ensure our elections are held with integrity is by requiring proof that the person casting the ballot is indeed who they claim to be. Mississippi has been a leader in this area for more than a decade. In 2011, a citizen-initiated Constitutional Amendment was approved that requires eligible voters to present a photo ID before casting a ballot. This applies both at the polls on election day or in the Circuit Clerk’s office if voting absentee.
Sign the Petition – We Demand Secure Elections
According to Secretary of State Michael Watson, more than 99.97% of all voters provided a photo ID when casting their ballot in the last election.
The Secretary of State lists on his website the acceptable forms of ID:
- A driver’s license
- A photo ID issued by a branch, department or entity of the State of Mississippi
- A United States passport
- A government employee ID card
- A firearms license
- A student photo ID issued by an accredited Mississippi university, college or community/junior college
- A United States military ID
- A tribal photo ID
- Any other photo ID issued by any branch, department, agency or entity of the United States government or any state government
- A Mississippi Voter Identification Card
There are three exemptions that allow a voter to cast a ballot without a photo ID, including religious objections to being photographed and military personnel casting ballots from overseas. Voter ID is one of the best ways to cut down on election fraud, but there is still more to be done in Mississippi to secure the integrity of our elections.
The next important steps that Mississippi must take are
- cleaning our voter rolls
- putting greater restrictions on mail-in ballots to cut down on the opportunity for fraud.
Sign our Petition and demand your Representative and Senator ensure our elections are secure!