Secretary of State Michael Watson writes about the importance of Mississippi elections and reflects on his work with the legislature to ensure security and accessibility for all voters throughout the state. ”Mississippi told me what was needed to secure our elections, and I’m proud of our work to reaffirm to Mississippians the vote they cast is the vote counted, but we can’t stop there,” he writes.
With long voting lines in the state and across the country expected on Nov. 3, voters could be subjected to more electioneering outside the polls than in years past. Electioneering is defined as “the activity of trying to persuade people to vote for a particular political party.”
More Mississippians have already requested more absentee ballots for this year’s presidential election than did so during the last one four years ago. Mississippi Secretary
Mississippians with medical conditions that cause higher risk for COVID-19 infection and death are suing the State of Mississippi over stringent rules that block them from voting absentee.
Jacob Ray writes that the Civil Rights Movement and Voting Rights Act ended voter suppression in the forms of lynchings, bombings, cross burnings, “bubbles in a bar of soap” tests, literacy tests and “good character” tests, but other forms of suppression survived the federal laws and continue to thrive.
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