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Voter ID bills die in Mississippi legislature
Published Wednesday, March 4, 2009
JACKSON (AP) — Some Mississippi Republican senators on Tuesday helped kill a proposal to make voters show identification at the polls — one of their party’s top issues for the 2009 legislative session.
Sen. Merle Flowers of Hernando said he wants every voter to show a driver’s license or other government-issued photo ID. But he said a House bill had provisions that he and some of his Republican colleagues found unacceptable, including allowing people to start voting 15 days before an election.
Under current law, Mississippi voters may cast absentee ballots, but only for specific reasons such as knowing that they’ll be out of town on election day.
‘‘Allowing 15 days (to vote) is 14 more days to cheat than we have now,’’ Flowers said.
Several states, including neighboring Arkansas, allow early voting.
The Mississippi House debated for several hours last month before passing a bill that included voter ID and early voting. That bill died in the Senate Elections Committee on Tuesday under a technical move led by Flowers — one that appeared to surprise the Republican chairman of the committee, Sen. Terry Burton of Newton.
‘‘I think we missed a golden opportunity to have a compromise bill between the House and the Senate, for the first time in all the years this issue has come up,’’ Burton said. ‘‘I know a lot of people are tired of hearing the debate every year.’’
Republicans and some conservative Democrats have been saying for about a decade that Mississippi needs to require voter ID to protect the integrity of elections.
Opponents say there’s been little proof that people are trying to vote under others’ names. They also say an ID requirement could be used to intimidate older black voters who were subject to Jim Crow laws decades ago.
A separate voter ID bill passed the Senate last month and died this week in the House Elections Committee, when the chairman, Democratic Rep. Tommy Reynolds of Charleston, didn’t bring it up for consideration. Reynolds’ decision to ignore the Senate bill was not a surprise to most Capitol insiders.
Reynolds said in an interview Tuesday that every House member had a chance to express an opinion during earlier debate and he thinks ‘‘it’s a real tragedy that all that work went for nothing.’’
‘‘I think there are some folks who don’t want an agreement,’’ Reynolds said, taking a jab at Republicans. ‘‘They want an issue.’’
Tuesday was the deadline for House and Senate committees to consider bills that had passed the other chamber.
At this point, legislators could revive voter ID only by having a two-thirds vote in both chambers. That’s unlikely to happen — but the issue won’t disappear from Mississippi political discussion.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has said repeatedly that he wants voters to show photo identification. After the two bills died Tuesday, Barbour spokesman Dan Turner said: ‘‘The governor is interested in a voter ID bill, but we’ll just see what happens next.’’
After word spread that Flowers had helped kill a voter ID bill, Democratic Rep. George Flaggs of Vicksburg stopped Flowers on the Capitol’s central stairway and thanked him for killing a bill many Democrats opposed.
‘‘It’s always good to see people doing your work for you,’’ Flaggs teased Flowers, within earshot of reporters.
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The bills are House Bill 1533 and Senate Bill 2548.
Comments
Posted by kpage1 (anonymous) on March 4, 2009 at 8:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Of course they're not going to allow voter ID in Mississippi!!! This state has gone the Louisiana route...if you can't win an election straight up...CHEAT!
The bill would have been fine if someone hadn't thrown in the 15 day voting span. What a crock! Sounds like Washington.
Posted by southernbelle (anonymous) on March 4, 2009 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How do you think some of the very politicians that killed this bill got into office ? Of course they don't want it passed. CHEAT! CHEAT! CHEAT!
Posted by momof1 (anonymous) on March 4, 2009 at 10:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Something has GOT to be done about government. From the top all the way down. I'm getting REALLY scared.
Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on March 5, 2009 at 12:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
All good comments! The Republicans that voted against it played right into the hands of the DemocRATS! The absentee voting was a joke in Louisiana! When will the legislators wake up in Mississippi! We need a Voter I. D. Law passed! Does anyone know how the local Senate and House members voted?
Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on March 5, 2009 at 7:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
BLAME, BLAme, blame!!!!!! You whining rePUKElicans are going to make me throw up!!!
Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on March 5, 2009 at 8:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah, instead of really facing why the ReTHUGlicans no longer attract the votes of their own in addition to millions who spoke in 2008, they still don't have it together and blaming others for your party's failure won't get it. OLD antiquated, DIVISIVE ideologies will always keep lucid thinking voters away. People like myself who are for TRUE family values, active in their faith, educated, hard working, are moving away in droves. With a dope head "conservative" talk show host blurting out foolishness/hatred in their names, and a black face being appointed who doesn't really lead, the GOP has a lot of work to do.
Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on March 5, 2009 at 10:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sensible and good people WANT VOTER I. D.
There is a no brainer, only a minority of Mississippians are against this
Remember who voted against Voter I. D. next election- I'm calling Bob Dearing today and asking him to vote for this and revive this ISSUE and get it passed.
You know- yes some things get old, but that doesn't diminish their value
The Constitution is old, should we abandon it? Conservative values may be old, but they are still good. Democrat values are old too, Obama and the Democrats have changed NOTHING, only revitalized tax and spend in BIGGER and more WASTEFUL ways than every before. Some things should never change- such as our way of life- capitalism.
Just wait, when the "stimulus tax credit/refund/handout/whatever" checks go out and all the little folks see how pitifully insignificant those checks are they are gonna realize how Obama has fooled them. Can you say "UNCLE TOM". The epitome of the slang term OREO!! Obama is doing nothing more than working for Pelosi and Reid, and the other top Democrats,he is still campaigning and trying to distract people by villanizing others to create fear , a sense of urgency, and a false enemy.
He's loosing approval ratings, and DC Democrats are breaking ranks.
Posted by reneef (anonymous) on March 5, 2009 at 9:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Since when has beening conservative become antiquated. Just because I don't agree that taxs payers should be responsible for everyone else that does not make me antiquated. It means that I feel everyone is resonsible for themselves. Perhaps if some people had not tried to tack on 15 days to vote the bill would have passed. Why do people need 15 days to vote? You can already vote and absentee ballot if you have a valid reason. Are some people jsut to lazy to get up and go to the polls on election day? If it is not important enought to them to vote on election day then don't vote.
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