Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has signed a GOP-backed bill aimed at ensuring only American citizens can cast ballots in local elections, saying those opposed to the measure are arguing in bad faith.
The Republican governor’s signature comes after both GOP-led legislative chambers passed Senate Bill 2588, with the votes being split across party lines. While Republicans voted for it, Democrats were unified in opposition. The bill, named the Safeguard Honesty Integrity in Elections for Lasting Democracy (SHIELD) Act, serves to verify the citizenship of voters through a federal database.
Under the legislation, county election commissioners will have to run a prospective voter’s data through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system if the individual lacks a valid driver’s license or another form of documentation proving U.S. citizenship. If the individual is flagged in the SAVE database, he or she runs the risk of being placed in a “pending” category or outright rejected in the voter registration process.
Not to be confused with the SAVE Act — a President Donald Trump-backed piece of legislation that would require all individuals to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote and present an ID when casting a ballot — the SAVE system is a database that law enforcement uses to track noncitizens.
The new law also requires the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office to run the state’s voter rolls through the SAVE system annually to see if any registered voters happen to be noncitizens. County election officials will soon have to keep a record of how many prospective voters were flagged and how many registered voters were removed from the rolls and report the list to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Republicans, like Reeves, say the motive of the “common sense” legislation is simply to ensure that only American citizens are able to make their voices heard through the ballot box on election day in Mississippi.
Meanwhile, Democratic officials feel differently. The Mississippi Democratic Party issued a scathing rebuke of the bill, accusing Republicans of engaging in Jim Crow-era tactics by implementing a “poll tax dressed up in modern language,” while adding that there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Despite the pushback from Democrats, GOP officials maintain there is no malicious intent. Currently, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Mississippi, but the Republican approach to the issue is that it is better to be proactively safe than sorry.
“That’s why I’ve signed SB 2588 – the SHIELD Act. It requires local officials to verify citizenship when someone registers to vote and the state of Mississippi to conduct an annual audit of voter rolls to ensure American citizens are the only ones voting. This is another win for election integrity in Mississippi (and America),” Reeves wrote on X. “We will continue to do everything in our power to make it infinitely harder – with a goal to make it impossible – to cheat in our elections! We will always put American citizens first.”
State Rep. Zakiya Summers, a Democrat from Jackson, asserts that the new law will place an unnecessary burden on Black citizens, who have been marginalized in elections historically. She contends that adding barriers to the voting process will also have consequences on women.
“We know exactly who will bear the brunt of it. Black Mississippians, who have historically faced systemic barriers to the ballot, are far more likely to be impacted by bureaucratic hurdles, data mismatches, and limited access to required documentation,” Summers said.
“Married, divorced, and widowed women frequently experience name changes that can trigger database discrepancies, forcing them to produce multiple forms of documentation just to prove their identity.”
Reeves, not buying the arguments against the legislation, believes his Democratic counterparts are using hyperbolic rhetoric to cover up their real agenda — usurping the voices of American citizens by affording undocumented immigrants the opportunity to vote in U.S. elections.
“While states like California and New York flood their voter rolls with illegal aliens, Mississippi will do the opposite and defend Americans’ right to determine the outcome of elections,” Reeves added. “This shouldn’t be a controversial issue, but it is. And it’s because Democrats are desperately trying to appease their growing radical base and outsource the management of our country to those who shouldn’t be here.”
The SHIELD Act will go into effect July 1.