Mississippi’s new voter ID law caused few problems on the June 3rd primary in the first election since its controversial passage, with only one report of a voter turned away for lack of identification.
A Pike County poll worker mistakenly told a person he couldn’t cast a ballot without an ID, said county Election Commissioner Trudy Berger.
“It was a misunderstanding,” Berger said. “We trained on it that nobody is ever told they can’t vote, period. As soon as we heard that had happened, we sent an election commissioner down there to solve the problem.”
According to the new law, voters must present a driver’s license or other government-issued ID to cast a ballot through the normal process. Those without ID can vote by affidavit ballot, after which they have five business days to show an acceptable form of photo ID, or apply for a Mississippi voter ID card, at the circuit clerk’s office.
The Secretary of State’s Office was notified of the incident, Berger said. But beyond that, the agency had few calls about voter ID issues.
