JACKSON (AP) — Mississippi’s photo voter identification law may stand up better to legal challenges because the state has made plans to provide free identifications in many locations, the secretary of state says.
Republican Delbert Hosemann told lawmakers Wednesday that he expects the U.S. Justice Department to reject Mississippi’s law after it reviews it under the Voting Rights Act.
Jan Schaefer, Attorney General Jim Hood’s spokeswoman, says Hood expects a response from federal officials in October.
Hosemann and Hood have already agreed to hire an outside lawyer to take the case into court after a rejection. Schaefer says Hood is reviewing a request to hire lawyers from Ridgeland-based Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens and Cannada PLLC.
Lawmakers tucked $395,000 in lawyer fees and $200,000 in expert witness fees into Hosemann’s current budget.
Previous Comments
so we’re hiring an outside firm to protect our voter suppression law that already costs money we don’t have to protect against a “voter impersonation problem” that doesn’t exist. by all means, spare no expense on your sham project designed to surpress the vote. What’s wrong with a little partisan politics when you can get the people to pay for it?
#1065 | Author: jpollan | Date: Sep 20 2012
Hosemann is a fool if he thinks the voter ID law will stand up in court, assuming the Supreme Court doesn’t strike down the Voting Rights Act. One of the strokes of genius in the Act is that it disregards intent and looks instead at the *impact* of voting regulations. There is almost no question that the voter ID law will disproportionately impact African-American voters in Mississippi. If that is the case, the law will be struck down.
#1071 | Author: brjohn9 | Date: Sep 20 2012
