JACKSON, Miss.—As Mississippi prepares to enforce a new voter citizenship law, two state senators on opposite sides of the debate are discussing whether birth certificates can be made easier to access for people who may need them to stay registered.
Gov. Tate Reeves signed the Safeguard Honest Integrity in Elections for Lasting Democracy Act, known as the SHIELD Act, into law April 1. It takes effect July 1 and requires county registrars to check Mississippi voter rolls against state and federal records to verify citizenship.
People whose citizenship cannot be verified could be flagged and given 30 days to provide a birth certificate, passport, naturalization paperwork or other proof of citizenship before their voter registration is rejected or canceled.
Sen. Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, who authored the law, said the process adds another layer of election security. Sen. Johnny DuPree, D-Hattiesburg, said it could create new barriers for eligible voters.
England said he and DuPree have discussed ways to make birth certificates free or expedited for low-income Mississippians who may need them to provide citizenship.
“We’ve already talked about sometime in this offseason going to visit the Department of Health to find out whether that’s something we need legislation for or whether that’s something that can be done administratively,” England said.
How the Law Works
The SHIELD Act requires registrars to annually compare Mississippi’s active voter database with identification records from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.
If the review raises questions about a person’s citizenship, the registrar must check the person’s information through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system, known as SAVE.
If SAVE does not verify citizenship, the person would be notified and given 30 days to provide proof.
England said SAVE helps ensure only U.S. citizens are on Mississippi voter rolls.
“Previously, the SAVE database cost states money to operate. It doesn’t cost any money now, so it just made sense for us to take advantage of this extra level of security—this extra step—to ensure that our voter rolls only contain the names of U.S. citizens,” England said.
Concerns About Eligible Voters
Voting rights advocates and some legislators say the law could burden eligible voters who have trouble accessing identity documents.
Election researchers have found no evidence of widespread noncitizen voting in the U.S. A February 2026 analysis from the Center for Election Innovation & Research found claims about large numbers of noncitizens on voter rolls often shrink after further review. The analysis also found SAVE can flag records because of outdated, incomplete or mismatched data.
In Mississippi, the secretary of state’s office recently compared voter rolls with Department of Public Safety identification records. England said the office found about 15 of Mississippi’s roughly 2 million registered voters could not be fully verified as citizens.
“It’s a very small percent (of voters) out there, and even some of those were just mistakes,” England said.
DuPree said the law is unnecessary because there is no evidence of widespread noncitizen voting in Mississippi. He said some eligible voters may not have the time, transportation or documents needed to prove citizenship if flagged.
“My district is 1,000-plus square miles, rural and urban. The average driving time for work is 21 minutes in Hattiesburg—who has the time to get off and go wherever they need to go in order to order a birth certificate?” DuPree said.
Bruce Case, policy associate for the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Mississippi chapter, said the law could also create problems for voters with disabilities, people living in poverty and married people whose names may not match across documents.
“Let’s say you have a sight impairment and can’t get your driver’s license, and let’s say because of that there was insufficient information going through that SAVE database,” Case said. “How much harder is it going to be now to get in a car and go somewhere to pick up (a birth certificate) or to fill out the paperwork? A lot harder.”
Mississippians who changed their last name after marriage may also face questions if their birth certificate does not match their driver’s license. DuPree said the law does not give specific guidance on how registrars should handle those cases.
“It’s in the eye of the beholder,” DuPree said. “It is a system that has not been thought out, and the kinks have not been worked out.”
Debate Over Election Confidence
England said the law is meant to protect public confidence in Mississippi elections. He said even isolated cases of noncitizen voting could damage trust in the process.
“If we have one noncitizen vote, the fallout from that would be so detrimental to voter turnout and voter confidence,” England said. “Arguably, our most important American tradition is having secure elections where people who should be voting are voting. If we continue to lose confidence in that, that’s not good.”
DuPree said the law could discourage people from voting.
“We already have problems with people not voting in Mississippi. So, do you think that more people are going to vote if you put more barriers in front of them?” DuPree said. “It’s not logical to think that, if I have a straight line to a door, I’m going to move faster if you put up barriers in front of me.”
Easing the Burden
The law bars voter registration cancellations within 90 days of a general election, but its verification process could be in place before the November federal midterm elections.
England said he does not expect the law to affect most Mississippi voters and said lawmakers will review its effects after implementation.
“It’s not going to be anything that the vast majority of voters in Mississippi know is even in place,” England said. “If we can make the process to provide your citizenship easier, we’re going to look at doing that.”
Still, the birth certificate process could be difficult for people without a driver’s license or similar identification. Mississippi residents can apply for a replacement birth certificate through the Mississippi State Department of Health, but the process requires proof of identity. People without photo identification may face additional steps or delays when trying to obtain the documents needed to verify citizenship.
DuPree and Case said efforts to reduce the burden would help, but they still believe the law could hurt eligible voters. DuPree said he hopes the law faces a legal challenge before it takes effect.
“I don’t think it’s legal,” DuPree said. “Hopefully, some judge… will prevent it from going into action and some other learned person or people determine whether it is constitutional.”
This article first appeared on RHCJC and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
