Catching up with Secretary of State Michael Watson

News 25’s Brooke Parker was able to catch up with Secretary of State Michael Watson about the latest in Jackson.

2023 has been a busy year for Secretary of State Michael Watson and we last caught up with him in February. The most important item for Watson: making people feel confident at the polls. “First and foremost, so very proud of H.B. 1310. It was basically a package dealing with voter integrity and making sure the process was clean and fair. We talked a lot about voter registration, cleaning up the voter rolls themselves. Banning ballot trafficking, which is something that’s in a lawsuit, now. We did so much good work this year. And you look at the four-year career and moving forward, we’re talking about new machines with paper-based ballots, so making sure we can trust what’s on the papers and what’s going to be counted. And, it’s going to win the day. ”

On top of regulations put in place for voting and campaign ethics, poll workers will receive a pay raise next year. Watson is hoping to raise the pay for those working in courtrooms, too.

There are only so many election days in a year. So, what is Watson doing all year long? “Most people just think that we do elections, and that’s not all we do. So, we do business services, and we do public lands, as well. So, really, just some kind of clean-up in some of those areas. Making it easier to do business in Mississippi. Cutting the regulatory burden. One of our big focuses has been tackle the tape here in Mississippi, and we’ve been really successful with working for small businesses around the state.”

“Tackle the Tape” is a way for employees to report regulations that are affecting public health and safety in the 29 occupational licensing boards and commissions.

In the next legislative session, they hope to continue to tackle the tidelands and work out a plan between the state and the City of Biloxi. “We’re looking to the legislature. I know there are three things that we can do. We can negotiate, we can litigate, or we can legislate. So, I think that’s really important that now we talk to the legislature going into the next session to make sure that we get this right for the entire Coast. ”

WXXV will continue to provide updates about tidelands as they become available. Right now, Watson’s focus is on elections. “We got elections coming up in November, so I hope Mississippians will come out to the polls and vote. You’ve got time now to start researching these candidates. I hope Mississippians will pay attention to this extremely important election for the future of our state.”