Senate Bill 2588, which took effect July 1, requires additional citizenship checks for voter registration. The Southern Poverty Law Center argues the law could put up barriers for Mississippians who are registered and eligible to vote. An SPLCfacts sheetidentifies several groups that could face challenges, including people whose names have changed and those who lack ready access to official records.
Shanika Ward with the Mississippi League of Voters says those challenges can impact people heading to the polls, even if their information is validated.
“The SHIELD Act has the possibility of posing is to persons whose names have changed, for example, married persons, people who have recently gotten divorced, people who are recently opted to change their names,” Ward said. “They may be impacted by the ability to have their name match what is on the rolls when they get ready to go and cast their ballot.”
Secretary of State Michael Watson disputed those concerns. He added that the Mississippi Department of Public Safety has already identified several hundred people who are not eligible to vote.
“Since we put in our new 2023 legislation and DPS verified a couple other tools, I believe we've identified roughly 300 folks that have either tried to register or, when it came to DPS, were identified as non-citizens so they weren't allowed to register,” Watson said.
Watson said the number is small compared to Mississippi’s total voter population, but preventing voter fraud remains important.
“In those elections, some people say, ‘well, gosh, that was just a city council seat or that was a state legislative seat.’ Those are folks that can raise your taxes. So, I think it's really important to understand,” Watson said.
Watson said the SHIELD Act’s regulations should not be a problem for voters if election officials thoroughly review database results.
“There will be times when you get information back from different databases that may not be quite accurate,” Watson said. “And again, even if the flag pops and somebody says, you know, that might not be a citizen. That individual is given the opportunity to come in, approve their citizenship.”
The SHIELD Act could potentially impact voter turnouts, according to the SPLC’s facts sheet. An alternative to in-person voting is absentee ballots, but anyone applying must provide a valid excuse to obtain one. Mississippi is among 13 states that requires an excuse, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Watson said not requiring an excuse for mail-in ballots would NOT increase voter turnout.
“I think the studies that I've seen over the years, basically, when you do something for convenience factor, you do not drive voter turnout, so it doesn't technically make it easy to anybody to come vote.”
Watson encourages everyone to check their voter registration status before election day on the Ya’ll Vote website. Readers can also visit MPB’s Voter Guide for sample ballots and information on candidates in their area.
