One more state is headed down the road of a voter identification bill.
The Georgia Senate approved a bill Tuesday requiring voters to provide photo identification to vote. The measure likely will become law.
A several similar bills are pending in the Mississippi House of Representatives.
These measures would require voters to have a driver's license, military ID or state-issued identification card with a photograph to vote.
Earlier this month the Senate Elections Committee approved a bill to require voters to present some form of identification before voting.
The bill, written by Sen. Terry Burton, R-Newton, lists 10 forms of identification that could be presented at voting precincts.
Among the forms identification that would be accepted are a current and valid Mississippi driver's license, a valid passport, an employer-issued identification card, a student identification card or a military identification card.
The Senate passed a similar bill last year but it died in the House.
Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood, promises a fight against the bill once it hits the floor.
Identification is unnecessary and weakens the driving force behind the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that so many African Americans fought for.
"It's like we'll be going back in time," he said.
Another Democrat, but on the House side said she's likely to vote against the ID bill.
Rep. May Whittington of Schlater said she has sat in on hearings in which people have been moved to tears as they talked about barriers to voting in the 1960s.
For veterans of the civil rights struggle, the voter ID bills are a red flag, Whittington said, and understandably so.
"You really don't know how it bothers them until you hear the testimony of what they had to go through to vote," she said.
Supporters claim that the bill is designed to crack down on voter fraud.
Critics say the bill is akin to a poll tax because the poor are asked to fork over money for an official identification.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, voters in 21 other states are asked to show identification before voting. In six states - Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, South Carolina and South Dakota - voters must show photo ID; the 15 other states accept other forms of identification.
One more state is headed down the road of a voter identification bill.
The Georgia Senate approved a bill Tuesday requiring voters to provide photo identification to vote. The measure likely will become law.
A several similar bills are pending in the Mississippi House of Representatives.
These measures would require voters to have a driver's license, military ID or state-issued identification card with a photograph to vote.
Earlier this month the Senate Elections Committee approved a bill to require voters to present some form of identification before voting.
The bill, written by Sen. Terry Burton, R-Newton, lists 10 forms of identification that could be presented at voting precincts.
Among the forms identification that would be accepted are a current and valid Mississippi driver's license, a valid passport, an employer-issued identification card, a student identification card or a military identification card.
The Senate passed a similar bill last year but it died in the House.
Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood, promises a fight against the bill once it hits the floor.
Identification is unnecessary and weakens the driving force behind the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that so many African Americans fought for.
"It's like we'll be going back in time," he said.
Another Democrat, but on the House side said she's likely to vote against the ID bill.
Rep. May Whittington of Schlater said she has sat in on hearings in which people have been moved to tears as they talked about barriers to voting in the 1960s.
For veterans of the civil rights struggle, the voter ID bills are a red flag, Whittington said, and understandably so.
"You really don't know how it bothers them until you hear the testimony of what they had to go through to vote," she said.
Supporters claim that the bill is designed to crack down on voter fraud.
Critics say the bill is akin to a poll tax because the poor are asked to fork over money for an official identification.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, voters in 21 other states are asked to show identification before voting. In six states - Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, South Carolina and South Dakota - voters must show photo ID; the 15 other states accept other forms of identification.
One more state is headed down the road of a voter identification bill.
The Georgia Senate approved a bill Tuesday requiring voters to provide photo identification to vote. The measure likely will become law.
A several similar bills are pending in the Mississippi House of Representatives.
These measures would require voters to have a driver's license, military ID or state-issued identification card with a photograph to vote.
Earlier this month the Senate Elections Committee approved a bill to require voters to present some form of identification before voting.
The bill, written by Sen. Terry Burton, R-Newton, lists 10 forms of identification that could be presented at voting precincts.
Among the forms identification that would be accepted are a current and valid Mississippi driver's license, a valid passport, an employer-issued identification card, a student identification card or a military identification card.
The Senate passed a similar bill last year but it died in the House.
Sen. David Jordan, D-Greenwood, promises a fight against the bill once it hits the floor.
Identification is unnecessary and weakens the driving force behind the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that so many African Americans fought for.
"It's like we'll be going back in time," he said.
Another Democrat, but on the House side said she's likely to vote against the ID bill.
Rep. May Whittington of Schlater said she has sat in on hearings in which people have been moved to tears as they talked about barriers to voting in the 1960s.
For veterans of the civil rights struggle, the voter ID bills are a red flag, Whittington said, and understandably so.
"You really don't know how it bothers them until you hear the testimony of what they had to go through to vote," she said.
Supporters claim that the bill is designed to crack down on voter fraud.
Critics say the bill is akin to a poll tax because the poor are asked to fork over money for an official identification.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, voters in 21 other states are asked to show identification before voting. In six states - Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, South Carolina and South Dakota - voters must show photo ID; the 15 other states accept other forms of identification.
