Senate GOP’s campaign arm demands Mississippi election officials preserve affidavit ballots
Hyde-Smith’s attorneys want counties to preserve 12,000 to 20,000 affidavit ballots as officials review eligibility in a race still too close to call.
- Democrat Scott Colom holds a razor-thin lead of roughly 49.0% to Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith's 48.8%, with up to 20,000 affidavit ballots awaiting eligibility review, according to Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson.
- Affidavit ballots are cast when voters lack photo ID or are missing from poll books, requiring verification before counting. The NAACP and voting rights groups are monitoring all 82 counties to ensure voters are not disenfranchised.
- In Hinds County, election officials are managing hundreds of ballots, including 233 from Jackson State University students. Lily Moens, policy director at Mississippi Votes, said many ballots are being rejected because voters arrived at the incorrect precinct, calling it 'disheartening.'
- Hyde-Smith's lawyers requested that officials segregate affidavit ballots, prompting Colom's legal team to call the request 'unlawful' and warn it could violate ballot secrecy laws. The competing positions underscore the intense scrutiny surrounding the outstanding ballots.
- Counties must certify results by Nov. 13, with the election potentially making Colom Mississippi's first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction. The outcome will determine the size of the Democratic majority in the Senate next year.
35 Articles
35 Articles
Mississippi vote count drags in US Senate cliffhanger
Democrat Scott Colom held a narrow lead of fewer than 2,000 votes over Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith, with roughly 96% of ballots counted. (AFP pic)WASHINGTON: Election officials in Mississippi were racing Friday to verify thousands of outstanding ballots in a razor-thin US Senate race, three days after Democrats swept to power in a historic defeat for President Donald Trump's Republicans.Democrat Scott Colom held a narrow lead of fewer …
Eyes are placed on provisional ballots, which are used when a person has problems with their voter identification or registration
Mississippi Senate Fight Intensifies as GOP Seeks Special Handling of Affidavit Ballots
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI — The unresolved Mississippi Senate race has turned into a legal and procedural fight over thousands of affidavit ballots that could determine whether Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith keeps her seat or Democrat Scott Colom pulls off a historic upset. As of Friday, Colom held a razor-thin lead of roughly 49.0% to Hyde-Smith’s 48.8%, with 12,000 to 20,000 affidavit ballots still awaiting eligibility review, according to Missis…
Even if it becomes a swing state, people never thought it could happen, say university students who have helped others register as voters.
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