With local and national elections less than a day away, various nonprofits throughout the Mississippi have been collaborating with one other to prepare voters for Tuesday.
Mississippi has a long history of voter suppression. Black would-be often faced intimidation, threats and violence before the successes of the Civil Rights Movement. Today, nonprofits strive to resume their predecessors’ work by encouraging voter participation and challenging laws that could disenfranchise voters.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, Disability Rights Mississippi and the Mississippi Center for Justice have workshops to teach residents what they need to do to participate in elections. Another organization, One Voice, helps inmates gain their voting rights back. Many have voter protection programs with staff on-call in case locals need help on election day.
Mississippi has some of the strictest voting laws in the country. Individuals who are convicted of certain crimes have their right to vote revoked for life. The state does not offer universal early voting, online voter registration or no-excuse absentee voting, making it harder for voters to cast ballots by requiring them to show up in person and at specific times. The laws especially present challenges for disabled persons, prisoners, low-income voters and minorities.
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Advocating for Disabled Voters
In July, the State of Mississippi revised restrictions lawmakers placed on absentee voting assistance in 2023 after Disability Rights Mississippi, the League of Women Voters of Mississippi, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the ACLU of Mississippi sued the state, saying the law disenfranchises people with disabilities.
“Without the injunction it would have gone into effect and voters with disabilities in some situations would not be able to vote,” SPLC Senior Staff Attorney Ahmed Soussi said. The court ruled Mississippians with disabilities should have the right to choose who assists them.
Congressional candidate Ty Pinkins shoots a basketball at The Ark in Jackson, Miss., in October 2024. Photo courtesy Disability Rights Mississippi. ” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Basketball_cred-Disability-Rights-Mississippi.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Basketball_cred-Disability-Rights-Mississippi.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Basketball_cred-Disability-Rights-Mississippi.jpg?resize=780%2C519&ssl=1″ alt class=”wp-image-48875″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Basketball_cred-Disability-Rights-Mississippi.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1 1024w,
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