Sonya Williams Barnes, state policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center in Mississippi, said the “SHIELD Act” being considered by state lawmakers would be an impediment for Mississippi voters and a solution in search of a problem.
The measure has been promoted as preventing non-U.S. citizens from voting, but Barnes said it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote and that the state already has voter identification laws.
Barnes said the proposed changes would make it harder for eligible citizens to vote, particularly senior citizens, rural residents and people who have recently married and changed their names, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
