Candidate calls for voter ID law, which already exists
Secretary of state candidate Sam Britton on June 19 signaled his strong endorsement of a voter ID law for Mississippi.
"Last time I checked, you need an ID to rent a car, board an aircraft...even check out a library book," the public service commissioner wrote on Twitter. "Isn’t it time we include one of our nation’s landmark rights in the list? I stand with ALL Mississippians wanting free and fair elections. #Voteridmatters"
Just one problem: Such a law already exists in the Magnolia State, and it's been implemented since 2014.
Britton campaign manager Alex Melendez said Britton is aware Mississippi has a voter ID law. He pointed to a similar post, about an hour later on Facebook, that said Mississippi should "ensure that our voter ID law doesn't change."
"He's reaffirming his support for the voter ID law," Melendez said of Britton. He said the tweet had "poor wording."
Indeed, Mississippi's voter identification requirements already are among the strictest in the nation — and have faced criticism for being too restrictive.
Mississippi requires government-issued photo identification. Voters who arrive at the polls without one may still cast an affidavit ballot, but it will only be counted if the person reports to a circuit clerk within five days of the election and shows ID. Just six other states have similarly strict voter ID laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
On Thursday, June 20 Britton's Republican opponent, Sen. Michael Watson, poked fun on social media at Britton's apparent lack of knowledge of the state's ID requirements.
He posted a clip from the movie "Dumb and Dumber," where Jim Carrey's character Lloyd Christmas appears surprised by an old newspaper headline that reports man has walked on the moon. "No way," Carey exclaims. "That's great!"
"Five years ago, our Voter ID law was implemented successfully," Watson wrote. "Nearly 50 years ago, America made history. It’s always good to be reminded of both historic events (as in, they already happened)!!!"
Sen. Joel Carter chided Britton in a response to his post, saying "last time I voted I had to show my ID. It's already law thanks to lawmakers such as your opponent."
Johnny Dupree, a Democrat running for secretary of state, did not immediately respond to a message seeking his stance on Mississippi's voter ID law on Thursday June 20.
Mississippi lawmakers debated creating a voter ID law for years before voters said one should be created in 2011, and lawmakers put the mandate into law the next year. It wasn't enacted right away due to a requirement that Mississippi and other states with a history of racial discrimination get federal approval for election law changes. As the law awaited clearance, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling erased the approval mandate, and the it was implemented in 2014.
Backers say the identification requirements help prevent election fraud. But critics have argued such laws tend to hurt poor and black people, a critical concern in a state with a background of voter suppression.
Contact Luke Ramseth at 601-9617050 or lramseth@gannett.com. Follow @lramseth on Twitter.