[Update] Initiative rejected at the polls by 55 percent of the MS voters. (CBS News) [End Update]
Today Mississippi voters will vote for or against Amendment 26, aka Personhood law, which states:
Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Mississippi: SECTION 1. Article III of the constitution of the state of Mississippi is hereby amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION TO READ: Section 33. Person defined. As used in this Article III of the state constitution, "The term 'person' or 'persons' shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof." This initiative shall not require any additional revenue for implementation.
According to a report released on November 7, 2011 from Democratic leaning pollster PPP (Public Policy Polling) the vote could go either way. They find the Personhood Amendment has 45 percent of voters supporting the Amendment and 44 percent opposing it.
If this measure passes, Mississippi would be the first state to grant an embryo legal rights.
Other items on the Mississippi ballot are:
Initiative 27 would require voters to show government-issued identification at the polls.
Initiative 31 would restrict the government's use of eminent domain to take private land for economic development.
According to Mississippi's Secretary of State, Delbert Hosemann, Mississippi is "seeing minor problems and major turnout." (Source)Other elections being held today include another controversial vote in Ohio over the power of organized labor. Voters are asked whether to overturn a law that would severely restrict the collective bargaining power of public sector unions in the state.
Governors will be chosen in Kentucky and Mississippi, mayors in eight of the nation's largest 25 cities including Houston,Philadelphia, San Francisco and Phoenix. also contests for state legislature seats in Virginia and Iowa.
More on those elections at Chicago Tribune.
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