More on ID requirements

As an update to the posting from yesterday, below are the suitable forms of identifying where you live on Election Day, should the need arise. This listed on the voter registration form from the Secretary of State's website.

Identification Requirement: If you do not have a driver's license or social security number, and this form is submitted by mail, and you have never registered to vote in the county you are now registering in, you must send, with this application, either a) a copy of current and valid photo identification, or b) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter. If you do not provide the information requested above, you may be required to provide to election officials either (a) or (b) above the first time you vote after January 1, 2004 at a voting place or by absentee ballot.

Barbour questions legality of new voters

The Financial Times interviewed Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour about the upcoming elections. He's obviously not very excited about the hard work of the Obama campaign to register thousands of new voters in Mississippi this election cycle.

Haley Barbour, the Republican governor of Mississippi, has questioned the legality of tens of thousands of new voter applications in his state, raising the prospect that new voters might be challenged on election day.

Mr. Barbour told the Financial Times that “not all” newly registered voters in Mississippi were legal because of rules that require voters who register by mail to include a photocopy of a federally accepted identification in their application, or bring identification to the polls. “I suspect some of those people won’t be able to do that,” he said.

First, if you registered by mail (and, as of right now, this includes anyone who did not register at the Circuit Clerk's office in person), you are not "illegal," and you can vote, but you will be asked to show identification if this is the first time you have voted.

Be prepared when you go to the polls this November. If you do not have a state-issued ID, you can also use a utility bill with your name and address on it as identification.

Also remember, you can always request an affidavit ballot- no one can deny your right to vote.

We want everyone's vote to count this election year!!!

Mississippi voter registration up 130,000 and counting

I have been hearing that there would be close to 100,000 new voters added to the rolls in Mississippi this year. The Clarion Ledger today in a front page article reported that number to be over 130,000 and still rising. Apparently they are still processing thousands of registration forms. While of course not all of these are Democrats, but I bet a wide majority of them are. If Mississippi follows the same trends as other states have shown, expect for an at least 2-1 split in favor of Democrats and possibly as high as 4-1. This is good news for Barack Obama and really good news for Ronnie Musgrove.

In 2004, Hinds County had 119,700 registered voters. By February this year, that number had risen to 135,890 and now has topped 152,000...

...Hinds County is far from the only county seeing a huge increase. Madison County is now reporting 74,870 registered voters - up from 63,975 in February...

...In February, Washington County had more than 26,000 registered voters. That number is now about 35,000, said Washington County Circuit Clerk Barbara Esters-Parker.

Daily Journal: Turnout this year expected to be 'huge'

I will be very interested to see what the final registration numbers look like for Mississippi. In a year that has seen tremendous Democratic gains on the voter rolls across the country, Mississipp has seen its voter rolls increase as well. I suspect when the numbers are released we will something in the neighborhood of a 3-2 advantage for Democrats in new voters added to the rolls this year.

Yesterday's Daily Journal discussed the gains being made across the state.

Lee County saw 1,500 new registrations on Friday.

"This says it's going to be a huge turnout," Circuit Clerk Joyce Loftin said Monday.

The county's total registration has gone from 51,100 to more than 55,000 - and Loftin says she still has about 4,000 applications to be processed.

That means Lee County alone will see an increase of between ten and twenty percent.

"We've got record-breaking applications," echoed Baretta Mosley, a deputy clerk in Lafayette County.

In DeSoto County, more than 10,000 new voters have been added to the rolls this year – 6,000 since May 20, said Circuit Clerk Dale Thompson.

Marvin King, a political science professor who runs Black Political Analysis, one of my favorite stops of the day while surfing, has this to say about the jump in registration.

Marvin King, assistant professor of political science at the University of Mississippi, said typically these new voters are disproportionately young and minority, and favor Democrats by wide margins.

"I still do not believe this takes Mississippi out of the Republican column for the presidential contest," he noted, "but Travis Childers should welcome this news and it bodes well for all down-ballot Democrats."

He also predicted "a surprisingly close Senate race," if these newly registered voters actually show up on Election Day

Starkville voter registration surging

Voter registration is full speed ahead in Starkville according to a story in the Starkville Daily News. The Oktibbeha County Circuit Clerk estimates between 1,000 to 1,500 new voters have been registered since the primaries. Voter registration drives are bringing in bundles of forms for the Circuit Clerk to process.

“I had someone bring in 250 forms one day from a voter registration drive held at Mississippi State recently,” McGinnis said. “Other groups conducting drivers are also bringing in several — anywhere from 50 to 75 at a time.”Whether the spike in voter registrations will translate into an overwhelming turnout at the polls remains to be seen, but she believes that it is likely given a historical interest in presidential elections, McGinnis said.

I would love to see the numbers for Oxford and Hattiesburg. A lot of folks, myself among them, predict a large turnout for young voters. This is a good sign to see out of Starkville.

Saturday deadine to register vote

If you are not registered to vote yet, you have until Saturday to do so if you plan on voting in this November's historic election. To see if you are registered to vote, find your polling location, or to begin the process of getting registered use this cool tool from the Obama campaign.

Vote for Change Voter Registration Tool

Daily Journal: Voter registration strong across the region

The Daily Journal reported today that North Mississippi voter registration is headed through the roof. Voter registration is key to Dem chances in November. Party affiliation of these newly registered voter is not listed in the article.

Lee County Circuit Clerk Joyce Loftin said her downtown Tupelo office has registered some 600 new voters since Sept. 1, with at least 1,200 calling or coming in to change their voting places.

"Business is booming," she observed Tuesday. (emphasis mine)

What about Desoto County?

Across the state in DeSoto County near Memphis, Circuit Clerk Dale Thompson reports waves of new voters since January – some 8,500 swelling voter rolls to nearly 80,000.

"It's going like crazy," she said Tuesday.

This is setting up to be a record setting election in November. I don't ever remember this many people this excited over an election in my lifetime.

Are you registered to vote?

To see if you are registered, or to register online, or to request an absentee ballot, you can use this cool new tool from the Obama campaign.

Obama Voter Registration Tool


Notes:

The deadline to register for the Nov. 4 election is Oct. 4, 2008.

ELIGIBILITY

To register in Mississippi you must:

be a citizen of the United States

have lived in Mississippi and in your county (and city, if applicable) 30 days before the election in which you want to vote

be 18 years old by the time of the general election in which you want to vote

have not been convicted of murder, rape, bribery, theft, arson, obtaining money or goods under false pretense, perjury, forgery, embezzlement, or bigamy, or have had your rights restored as required by law

not have been declared mentally incompetent by a court Note: State law changed by federal court order in 1998 and by state legislation in 2000. We now accept the form as registration for voting for all state and federal offices.

REQUIREMENTS :

United States citizen.

Eligibility requirements of my state.

The information I have provided is true to the best of my knowledge under penalty of perjury. If I have provided false information, I may be fined, imprisoned, or (if not a U.S. citizen) deported from or refused entry to the United States.

The Burg Can!

The Obama Campaign is gearing up in Mississippi. For those in the Hattiesburg area, below is the latest event.

Obama Mississippi Campaign Coming to Hattiesburg

Official representatives from the Obama campaign and the Young Democrats of Mississippi will be in Hattiesburg to talk about voter registration.

Saturday, August 9th at 1:00pm
at the Jackie Dole Sherrill Community Center, 220 W Front Street , Downtown Hattiesburg

Obama voter registration kickoff

Here we come Mississippi!

I recently received this from the Obama campaign

Obama Campaign for Change-Mississippi
Voter Registration Kickoff!

When: Saturday, August 2, 2008
10:00 a.m.

Where: Obama Campaign Office733 N. State Street
Jackson, MS 39202

For more information: (601) 983-8331 or (443) 536-1731

See you there!!