It appears we may have put the cart before the horse in aneditorial last Sunday regarding voter identification laws currentlyin place in Mississippi. While it is true that voter ID language isalready on the books, that language was never approved by theJustice Department and as such is not valid.

Regardless, the point of our comments is to bring light to thesilliness of members of the House to strip down SB 2821 over fearsit was reminiscent of the days of voter discrimination and polltaxes.

The action by those House members puts this state in theposition of losing $34 million in federal funds to help Mississippistreamline our election process.

The way it stands now, the Voter ID bill has been sent toconference committee where it faces an April 2 deadline. Our hopeis that conferees will find a solution to the stalemate and get aworkable voter ID bill on the books — thus allowing the state toreceive its share of the federal funding. The minimum requirementcalls for identification for mail registrants on their first vote.Conferees should take us beyond the minimum.

As we previously pointed out, showing one’s identification is apart of everyday business for almost everything we do. Why shoulddoing the same when one casts something as important as a vote beany different?