The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal Editorial, 12/30/8
Consideration by some legislators and other elected officials of various proposals to enact an “early voting” law in Mississippi provides opportunity to fully examine our state’s election statutes, making voting “clean, easy and accessible,” as one key lawmaker described the issue.
Indeed, as Senate Elections Committee Chairman Terry Burton, R-Starkville, said, the rare off-year in statewide voting cycles in 2009 provides an opportune time to deal with election reforms like early voting and voter identification.
Many Mississippians watched with envy before the November presidential elections as millions of voters in 30 other states – including Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana – cast ballots at their convenience for a set period before Nov. 4. Some stood in lines, as they probably would have on the regular election day, but it was convenient and it arguably increased voter turnout nationwide.
Mississippi allows absentee voting for a variety of reasons, and many people use it as a form of early voting. It should be relatively simple to broaden the law and devise a reasonable mechanism for early voting, requiring no specific reason.
Magnolia Tribune
