/Voters who registered at driver’s license bureaus may need to affirm registration

Voters who registered at driver’s license bureaus may need to affirm registration

Some circuit clerks in the state claim that in some cases, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety voter registration information is not being made available for their offices in order to allow new voters to be added to the voter rolls. A person who is not on the voter roll by October 8th will most likely not be eligible for the Nov. 6 general elections. Becca Bunch (deputy circuit clerk in Forrest County) said that “we have had some people claim they have registered” for renewing or applying for a driver’s licence, but “we don’t get it.” Although she doesn’t believe there are many registrations lost, she said that it has happened. A Lee County employee also made similar remarks. The Lee County employee said that some registrations have fallen through the cracks. Monday is the last day to register in person at the circuit clerk’s offices for the Nov. 6, general election. There will be four U.S. House contests, two Senate elections and multiple judicial elections. Postmarked Tuesday will also be accepted for voter registration. The circuit clerk of the county in which they live should issue a voter card to all people who register at the driver’s licence bureau stations. Officials advised that they check with their circuit clerk if they haven’t received one by Monday. Officials believe that voter registration applications from driver’s license bureaus could be lost because of incorrectly filled out forms or incorrect entries into the state voter registration system. LaGecha McKinley, Hinds County Deputy Circuit Clerk, said that she has not received any complaints about voter registrations not being sent from driver’s licence bureaus to her office. On Thursday, she said that she had 87 new registered voters for Hinds County through people who registered at driver’s licence bureaus. Leah Rupp Smith spoke for Secretary of State Delberthosemann and said that her office is unaware of any problems. She stated that between yesterday and today, the Statewide Elections Management System (SEMS) reflected more than 650 new DPS Registrations or address changes. She said that people can contact the Secretary of State’s Office at (601) 576-5551 or 1-800-829-66786 for assistance with voter registration questions.