Published: June 30, 2008 11:14 pm      

Mississippi Voter Registration Day to be celebrated at Medgar Evers Library

On Wednesday, former State Rep. Erik R. Fleming, along with the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, the state conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and others will host the 4th Annual Mississippi Voter Registration Day at the Medgar Evers Library, 4215 Medgar Evers Blvd., Jackson, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Local radio station, WJMI, will host a live remote in front of the library.

July 2 is the birthday of Mississippi Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers. While in the Legislature, Fleming authored a bill to have this day declared Mississippi Voter Registration Day.

The purpose of the event is to make sure that individuals with felony convictions understand their voting rights. According to national surveys, more than 140,000 Mississippians have lost their voting rights as a result of felony convictions. Most Mississippians who have been convicted of a felony do not know their voting rights once they’ve completed the terms of their sentences. This event will also educate citizens about the state law and legislative and legal processes to have their voting rights restored.

According to the state Constitution, 10 felony crimes take your voting rights away. Those are: murder, rape, bribery, theft, arson, obtaining money or goods under false pretenses, perjury, forgery, embezzlement or bigamy. The Attorney General and the Secretary of State added 11 additional crimes in 2005 that expand the definition of theft. The ACLU is currently challenging the addition of those crimes.

“As we saw with the recent municipal, state and presidential elections, every vote is important. But even with such a significant demonstration of democracy, especially in 2003 and 2004, a number of citizens have still not entered this process,” Fleming said in a press release issued Monday.

The NAACP, ACLU and Fleming are part of the Mississippi Voter Empowerment Coalition, a group formed to ensure that every adult citizen in Mississippi can vote.