JACKSON, Miss. — Starting June 3 of 2014, if you do not have a photo ID you will not be able to vote. Monday, the Secretary of State’s office began their Voter ID outreach program to make sure all Mississippian’s have the correct for of ID when that time comes.
If you do not have one of the nine IDs required to vote, a Voter ID card can be issued to you free of charge. Those will start being issued in January 2014.
The IDs accepted at voting polls include:
- A driver’s license
- A photo ID issued by a branch, department or entity of the State of Mississippi
- A United States passport
- A government employee ID card
- A firearms license
- A student photo ID issued by an accredited Mississippi university, college or community/junior college
- A United States military ID
- A tribal photo ID
- Any other photo ID issued by any branch, department, agency or entity of the United States government or any State government
- A Mississippi Voter Identification card
According to Secretary of State Delbert Hoseman, less than two percent of Mississippians do not have photo ID, and ONLY those people are eligible for a free Voter ID card. Every county Circuit Clerk Office in the state will be able to issue those Voter ID cards.
To get a free Voter ID card you have to bring one of the following to your Circuit Clerk’s Office:
- Any expired but valid photo identity document having the voter’s name and photograph issued by the U.S. government or any U.S. state
- A birth certificate or any other document with the voter’s full legal name, date and place of birth
- A Social Security card
- A Medicare card
- A Medicaid card
- A Mississippi Voter Registration Card
Any of the following, as long as it includes the voter’s name and current address:
- Utility bill issued within the preceding six months
- Bank statement issued within the preceding six months
- Paycheck issued within the preceding six months
- Government check issued within the preceding six months
- IRS Form W-2 Wages Tax Statement issued within the current calendar year
If you don’t have any of those, you can get a Voter ID card just by knowing your full name, date of birth, state of birth, gender at birth, and your mother’s maiden name.
Free transportation can also be made available to voters who need help getting a Voter ID card.
For more information about getting a Voter ID you can call the Secretary of State’s Voter ID Hotline at 1-855-868-3745.
