Voter ID, if needed, should apply to all
All that said, there is a movement in the Legislature to get the racially sensitive issue of voter ID behind us by coming up with a compromise. One of those most often suggested is to exempt older voters from having to produce ID when they come to the polls. The exemption is intended to address one of the main objections of legislative opponents. They have claimed that voter ID could intimidate older black voters who still remember what it was like when all types of schemes, from poll taxes to registration tests, were used to try to dissuade blacks in Mississippi from voting.
Like most of the objections to voter ID, this one is probably exaggerated. There may be elderly persons who never obtained a driver’s license, but it’s certain that they have had to produce other forms of ID over the years without reservation. It’s just not that big of a deal.
Furthermore, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant raises a valid objection to the proposed exemption. If a person is going to try to impersonate another voter, the schemer is likely to pick someone who is incapacitated or who has recently died. You’d want to make sure that the real person wasn’t going to show up at the polls on Election Day and start squawking that someone had voted in his name. Most of these prospects for impersonation are likely to be elderly.
If Mississippi is going to have voter ID, it needs to apply to everyone.
Greenwood Commonwealth Editorial
1/5/9
Magnolia Tribune
