Video: New Voter ID System

[bitsontherun kiYn0aJm]

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) Beginning in 2014, all Mississippi voters will be required to show a photo ID at the polls. For residents of Lowndes County, obtaining an ID just got a lot easier.

If you don’t have a drivers license, passport or other form of identification, you’ll soon be able to get a voter ID at the Lowndes County circuit clerks office. The process only takes a few minutes and allows residents to obtain a free photo ID that won’t expire.

“We’re installing the software on the computer system to get everything going to get us trained and up and running and ready to service the people in January,” said Lowndes County Circuit Clerk Haley Salazar.
The ID is different from other identification in that the picture takes up about one third of the card and it can only be used for voting purposes.
“We’ll also set up today a process where you can come in and have your birth certificate verified here. Also, we’re setting up a process with MDOT where they’ll pick you up if you don’t have a ride and bring you here,” said State Secretary Delbert Hosemann.
To apply for the ID, residents can simply bring a recent utility bill or paycheck. However, the state is not expecting large numbers to apply for the card.
“Very, very few actually. I would remind everybody that if you have a drivers license or student ID or one of the other eight ones you don’t need one of these. In fact, Haley will not issue you a voter ID if you have one of the other ones,” said Hosemann.
“Hopefully too it will be a little wake up to people to check on their voter registration and make sure they’re registered in the correct prescient. That is vitally important and it cuts down on confusion on election day,” said Salazar.
Voter IDs will not expire and can even be obtained in the day of an election.

The ID can only be used for voting purposes and will be available in January.