Honest Voting

The Jackson Clarion-Ledger says that on Friday Republicans in the Democratic-controlled Mississippi House lost their bid to introduce a bill that would require voters to show identification at the polls .

The measure failed by 54 to 61. Voter ID legislation has repeatedly passed the Senate and died in the House.

Governor Haley Barbour, a Republican, chose voter ID as one of 11 items on his agenda for a special session of the Mississippi legislature. Supporters of voter ID say it helps prevent fraud. Opponents say there’s little proof of voter fraud, and they worry the requirement would intimidate older African Americans once threatened for trying to vote.

House Republicans tried last week to hold lawmakers’ salaries hostage in an attempt to pass voter ID. That attempt also failed…this time. Republicans are expected to try again later in the special legislative session.

The need for voter ID continues to be a major Republican talking point. I was entertained by Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann’s assertion that the state’s racial problems are a thing of the past — glad to know that somewhere on this planet has been cleansed of race and class prejudice!