Delbert Hosemann, Leslie McLemore and Bill Rose speak after the discussion.
Ann Marie Herod I The Daily Mississippian
The Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics Auditorium hosted, “The Sanctity of the Vote” yesterday. The event consisted of a prestigious panel including the Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, former state Republican chairman Jim Herring, former president of the Jackson City Council Leslie McLemore, and Ole Miss political science professor Marvin King. The panel discussed The Voting Rights Act of 1965 as well as voter ID.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the Civil Rights Movement in order to prohibit discrimination in voting. This piece of federal legislation allowed people of all racial minorities to vote. The Act forbids literacy test and any State government the ability to impose “qualification or Standing prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure.”
The Act also had unique enforcement provisions that were directed around the country where the government thought there might be high risks of discrimination.
According to the Department of Justice website, “Jurisdictions covered by these special provisions could not implement any change affecting voting until the attorney General of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia determined that the change did not have a discriminatory purpose and would not have a discriminatory effect.”
The Attorney General appointed a federal examiner and federal observers for the counties that are in need of “special provisions.”
The Voting Rights Act was then later amended in 1970, 1975, 1982, 1992, and then in 2006.
The effects of the Voting Rights Act were numerous. As McLemore pointed out in his initial address, Mississippi now has more African American elected officials than any other state in the Union.
Voter identification was an important topic covered yesterday. Secretary of State, Delbert Hosemann, explained how accessible it is to obtain an ID and the type of identification that can be used in its place. A driver’s license or college student ID, he asserted, will suffice.
Obtaining a voter identification card is very simple, but many think of this as a way to limit the voter turnout. Marvin King, a political science professor here at Ole Miss, stated his concerns about it.
“I don’t think we need voter ID. I think it is a solution searching for a problem,” King stated. “You are 30 percent more likely to be struck by lightening than for someone to commit voter fraud. “
When Hosemann was asked the same question, his answer was very different. “It doesn’t matter what I think. What matters is what the voters think. The vote was 62 percent in favor of voter ID. The most important person is the voter. This was voted on by the population with large support from both republicans and democrats.
Hosemann also spoke about his Election Day Report. Each Election Day, he posts on his website to keep everyone updated and informed on what is going on in Mississippi.
King closed the panel with, “Democracy needs to more accessible, easier to be a part of, more open, and accessible to all people.”
