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State GOP Chairman Brad White said he hopes to get the voter ID initiative on the ballot for November 2010. To do so would require some 100,000 signatures from certified voters in the state's congressional districts by Oct. 1.
"As much support that voter ID gets around the state, in order for it to get on the ballot it's going to have to be handled much like a campaign," White said Monday during a news conference at state GOP headquarters in Jackson.
Voter ID has been an incendiary topic at the Mississippi Capitol for years, usually dividing lawmakers along racial lines. Supporters say voter ID is needed to ensure fair elections and reduce the opportunity for voter fraud.
Opponents have said such documentation could lead to intimidation at the polls, and discourage the elderly and others who may not have valid ID from casting ballots. They also contend voter ID is reminiscent of the poll taxes and literacy tests used to keep black people from voting during the Jim Crow era.
White said so far about 20,000 signatures have been gathered since state Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, filed the ballot initiative in January.
Fillingane filed the petition after lawmakers failed to reach a deal on a voter ID bill after coming closer than they had in recent years. The measure was killed by Republicans in the Senate.
Fillingane and Sens. Merle Flowers of Southaven, Billy Hewes of Gulfport and Chris McDaniel of Ellisville objected to provisions in the bill to allow early voting 15 days before an election.
White said the ballot initiative presents a "clean version" of voter ID. He's scheduled stops this week Meridian, Biloxi, Hernando, Tupelo, Columbus, Greenville and Hattiesburg.
White said he's urging supporters to "take the petitions to church and civic clubs, anywhere you can go to gather the signatures we need."
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