CL – Voter ID: What’s next? Issue faces courts, DOJ scrutiny

Voter ID: What’s next?Issue faces courts, DOJ scrutiny

Gov. Phil Bryant signed Mississippi’s long-debated and politically charged voter identification law, and Attorney General Jim Hood has forwarded it to the Department of Justice for preclearance.

Because of Mississippi’s civil rights history, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires that changes in laws that govern the election law must be precleared by the United States government.

“Historically, as a cost-saving measure and for items that are more trivial, states have gone through the Justice Department,” Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said of seeking preclearance.

Clarion Ledger
5/19/12