As Mississippians are preparing to show proof of identification before they cast a ballot, a prominent Republican on the national political stage is saying worries of voter fraud are over-emphasized.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, son of perennial presidential candidate for former congressman Ron Paul, made the remarks Tuesday at a forum at the University of Chicago.

“There is still some fraud, and so we should stop that,” said Paul, a potential contender for the GOP’s 2016 presidential nomination, told former Obama adviser David Axelrod.

“Although the incidence of fraud is relatively small,” said Axelrod, whose party opposes voter ID.

“It probably is, and I think Republicans may have over-emphasized this. I don’t know,” replied Paul, clarifying that he supports voter ID requirements.

Paul is right on both counts.

Starting in July, Poll workers in Warren County will check ID’s mainly to see if a voter’s picture reasonably matches the voter and cross-reference the date of birth to the poll book.

I, like many Americans have no problem, proving who I am in order to cast a ballot when I already have to prove who I am to board an airplane or rent a hotel room.

For more information

Visit or call the Circuit Clerk’s office at 601-636-3961 or visit the Secretary of State’s Website at msvoterid.ms.gov/

Such is life in the 21st century. 

Both Democrats and Republicans, I feel, have over-emphasized voter ID. Arguments on the right say too many dead people vote in elections. Arguments on the left say poor people and minorities will be disenfranchised by having to provide a form of identification.

Both, sadly, are factors in every election, but not as much as either side would have you think.

Ten — yes 10 — types of photo IDs will be accepted at the polls. They include a driver’s license, a state-issued ID card, a U.S. passport, a government employee ID card, a firearms license, a student ID issued by an accredited state university or community college, a U.S. military ID, a tribal photo ID, a federally-issued ID and the Mississippi Voter ID Card.

The Mississippi ID card is available for free at circuit clerk’s offices statewide, and there are services in nearly every community dedicated to taking people to get a free ID card.

Those without ID may cast an affidavit ballot, which will be counted if the voter returns to the appropriate clerk’s office within five business days after the election and shows government-issued ID. Voters with a religious objection to being photographed may also vote affidavit, after which the voter returns to the clerk’s office and signs another affidavit that the religious exemption applies to them.

For those on the far left, it might be a hard pill to swallow. For those on the far right, it’s a victory. For us in the middle, it’s just a fact of life.

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Josh Edwards is a reporter and can be reached by email at josh.edwards@vicksburgpost.com or by phone at 601-636-4545.