Secretary of State speaks at USM

While on campus presenting the University of Southern Mississippi with a check for $366,100, Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann visited the College Republicans meeting to talk to students about the importance of voting and other political issues.

“I think it’s important to meet the people that not only make our laws but protect our rights as American citizens and Mississippians,” said Jeffrey Runnels, president of College Republicans. “It’s good for students to be able to sit there and ask them questions.”

Hosemann, who started the Mississippi initiative for a voter identification law, stressed the importance of students getting out to vote in November.

“These people are the ones who are going to run the place one day,” Hosemann said. “If you want to help control the agenda of this state and country, you have to vote.”

Though voter identification will not be implemented in time for the November election, Hosemann explained the process to students at the meeting, adding that USM student IDs will serve as identification when the initiative goes into effect.

“Our biggest fear is an uneducated voter,” Runnels said. “It’s another step we have to getting our membership to understand the voting process and understanding the issues we will be affected with on a daily basis.”

Runnels said having Hosemann speak at the meeting was a great opportunity for students to interact with a state leader who they might not otherwise have face-to-face access to.

“It was a great opportunity for students to better understand the voter ID law and the implications of it and how important it is to prevent voter fraud,” Runnels said.

“If you want to control the future, that’s done through the ballot boxes,” Hosemann said. 

For Hosemann, speaking on college campuses is nothing new, but it is something he feels is very important.

“I’ve spoken at every university in this state, and I will continue to do so because I think this is the soil you plant your seeds in to have a greater state,” Hosemann said. “It’s important for me to come here because these are the people who will be leading our state one day.”