Governor signs SHIELD Act into law seeking to further safeguard Mississippi elections

• “We will continue to do everything in our power to make it infinitely harder – with a goal to make it impossible – to cheat in our elections,” Reeves said. “We will always put American citizens first.”

Governor Tate Reeves (R) announced Wednesday that he has signed the SHIELD Act into law.

The legislation authored by State Senator Jeremy England (R) seeks to verify the citizenship of persons registering to vote in Mississippi while instilling confidence in the integrity of the state’s electoral process.

Governor Reeves said that “while states like California and New York flood their voter rolls with illegal aliens, Mississippi will do the opposite and defend Americans’ right to determine the outcome of elections.”

“This shouldn’t be a controversial issue, but it is. And it’s because Democrats are desperately trying to appease their growing radical base and outsource the management of our country to those who shouldn’t be here,” Reeves said.

Mississippi Democrats have opposed the measure, saying the SHIELD Act is “a poll tax by another name.”

“Republicans aren’t solving a problem, they’re creating one on purpose. There is no voter fraud crisis in Mississippi. There is a participation crisis, and instead of addressing it, they have made it worse. The SHIELD Act is a poll tax dressed up in modern language, and Mississippi Democrats will fight it with everything we have,” said Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman and State Rep. Cheikh Taylor.

Governor Reeves went on to note that SB 2588, or the Safeguard Honesty Integrity in Elections for Lasting Democracy (SHIELD) Act requires local officials to verify citizenship when someone registers to vote and that the state of Mississippi conduct an annual audit of voter rolls to ensure American citizens are the only ones voting.

The state will utilize the national Systematic Alien and Verification Entitlements (SAVE) database through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to ensure U.S. citizenship when a person is not in the Department of Public Safety’s system or if they have “checked themselves” as a non-resident when registering to vote.

Governor Reeves called the passage of the SHIELD Act “another win for election integrity in Mississippi (and America).”

“We will continue to do everything in our power to make it infinitely harder – with a goal to make it impossible – to cheat in our elections,” Reeves said. “We will always put American citizens first.”