Do I have to wear a mask to vote in MS because of COVID-19? What to know
Secretary of State Michael Watson said Friday he will be wearing a mask when he votes in November but he can’t make others do the same.
“No one can be forced to wear a mask to vote. That is unconstitutional,” he said at a press conference one month out from Election Day and amid the ballots that will be going out to every county in Mississippi next week.
He is requiring all poll workers wear masks, he said, because they are there on a voluntary basis.
This election there will be more poll workers and they will be paid extra to keep the machines and the polling places clean.
‘They’re going to receive $50 additional that day,” he said, thanks to money approved by the state Legislature.
HB 824 set new rules for election day. Watson said he signed off on those today and he will talk about them more next week.
Voters also will be getting cards in the mail outlining the new procedures, he said.
The focus this year is on safety and cleanliness, he said. His office spent $2.2 million to purchase masks, hand sanitizer and other supplies for polling places — “All purchased from Mississippi vendors,” he said.
“Understand our plan is good,” he said.
Watson said he talked on social media and Zoom to officials in South Korea, Taiwan, Israel and other countries that have already had elections to ask about their procedures.
He also talked to voters during the recent special election in Humphreys County. Everyone said they felt comfortable coming to vote, he said.
That election was held while the mask mandate was still in place in Mississippi. Gov. Tate Reeves dropped the requirement in his latest executive order on Wednesday.
“As a conservative I think individuals should make that decision on their own,” Watson said.
He suggested that if voters see someone inside the polls is not wearing a mask, they should wait until that person leaves and then go vote.
In addition to cleaning the polls, Watson said Mississippi is cleaning the voter rolls. The state has about 1.9 million registered voters, he said, and in some counties over 90% of the adults are registered to vote.
Humphreys County is the worst, he said, where 106% of adults who are of voting age are on the voter rolls.
Monday, Oct. 5 is the last day to register to vote. Requests for absentee ballots are up considerably, he said, with 4,000 requested in the first three days at one clerk’s office on the Coast compared to 6,000 total requests in the last Presidential Election.
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 12:15 PM.
