Officials question absentee ballot witnessing

by Associated Press Published: February 7,2011 COLUMBUS — Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann and Lowndes County circuit clerk Haley Salazar are calling attention to a problem of a handful of people witnessing large amounts of absentee ballots. Salazar tells The Commercial Dispatch that she’s seen the problem since taking office in 1992. It is not illegal under Mississippi for an individual to witness multiple absentee ballots. Hosemann raised the issue in his 2010 Election Day Activity Report released this past week. He noted that 350 of Lowndes County’s 1,263 absentee ballots were witnessed by six individuals during the November elections. One individual witnessed 167 ballots and another 80 ballots. Salazar has declined to identify the individuals. She said the abnormality existed before the November elections. Salazar has suggested that lawmakers limit the number of absentee ballots an individual can witness. The state Senate has under consideration a bill that would limit the number of voters an individual may assist at the polls. It does not address the absentee ballot situation cited by Hosemann and Salazar.]]]]> ]]>