Mississippi’s top election official says he is committed to ensuring that elections are run fairly.
“I think it’s important, the integrity of the process. You’ve got to have that. People have to be able to trust in the elections,” Secretary of State Michael Watson told the Greenwood Voters League Wednesday. “I think that’s an important part of what we focus on, and you balance that with ‘How in the world are we going to make it as easy as possible to vote?’ and making sure that the integrity of the process is matched.”
Watson, a Republican, has served as secretary of state since January 2020.
Previously, he served three terms as a state senator representing a district that includes Jackson County.
Watson’s office oversees elections, advises county circuit clerks and election commissioners and houses the Statewide Election Management System, where voter data is held. However, it’s the clerks, commissioners and poll workers “who carry the weight of elections,” the secretary emphasized.
Upon entering office, Watson made it a goal to visit all of Mississippi’s 82 counties to speak with each of the circuit clerks and election commissioners.
Earlier Wednesday in Greenwood, Watson had met with Leflore County Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill and the county’s election commissioners. The point of these visits, he said, is to hear from and answer any questions from the clerks and commissioners as well as to develop a rapport.
At the Voters League meeting, the secretary also discussed laws passed by the state Legislature that affect voting.
For example, one law passed in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, made a person’s absentee ballot his or her final vote. Previously, a person who had cast an absentee ballot could vote in person on election day, canceling out the absentee ballot.
Watson said that while he was campaigning in 2019, numerous circuit clerks told him that this provision created too much confusion on election day. The new law makes the counting of absentee ballots much smoother, he said.
Watson also talked about another state law that will establish paper trails as a backup to machine voting.
“You may not see it in June, but you will in November. The whole state is going to get new machines,” he said. “Machines have been attacked quite a bit across the country. But when you’ve got a paper trail ... you can go back and look, ‘Hey, here’s the paper ballot. I can match these numbers, and the paper’s going to be telling the truth.’”
Stockstill told the Commonwealth last month that the county was advertising for bids for machines that would provide a paper trail, with a reverse auction scheduled for later this month.
Stockstill hopes to have the machines purchased by June.
“The paper trail is an excellent idea. I agree with that 100%,” said David Jordan, president of the Voters League and a state senator who worked with Watson while he was still a senator.
Jordan said he plans to have Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams and Police Chief Terrence Craft speak to the Voters League next week.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
