Key facts
- Hyde-Smith's letter, from law firm Lex Politica, said separating affidavit ballots would let each one's eligibility be verified.
- Colom's letter, from Elias Law Group, said departing from ordinary procedures would violate Mississippi voters' rights and state election law.
- Mississippi counties have until November 13, 10 days from Election Day, to submit certified results.
- Mississippi is the only US state without a legal provision for recounts in statewide elections.
- A Colom win would make him the first Black US senator elected from Mississippi since 1874.
- The Mississippi and Alaska Senate races are the two remaining contests yet to be called.
Mississippi's US Senate race remained uncalled on November 6, with the two campaigns disputing how affidavit ballots should be handled as counting continued after Tuesday's midterm elections. Democrat Scott Colom led incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by 49.0% to 48.8%, according to vote counts compiled by Reuters and USA Today, which partnered this year to collect live results for Senate and House races.
Hyde-Smith sent a letter on Thursday to all 82 Mississippi county election commissioners demanding that their offices preserve all affidavit, or provisional, ballots and separate them from regular and absentee ballots. The letter, from law firm Lex Politica, which represents Hyde-Smith, said the measures were needed so that each affidavit ballot's eligibility for counting and ultimate disposition could be verified.
Colom sent a letter later on Thursday calling Hyde-Smith's request unlawful, in part because it could result in different treatment of ballots across counties. The letter from Elias Law Group, which represents Colom, said departing from ordinary election procedures as requested would violate Mississippi voters' rights and Mississippi election law.
Affidavit ballots require extra review because of questions about voter eligibility, and between 12,000 and 20,000 remain to be counted, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said on Thursday. Those ballots could determine the outcome of the race.
Mississippi counties have 10 days from Election Day, or until November 13, to submit certified election results. It is the only US state without a legal provision for vote recounts in statewide elections, and candidates could pursue a legal challenge to exclude certain ballots, which could change the vote count.
Mississippi and Alaska are the two remaining Senate contests yet to be called. The outcome will determine whether the Democratic Party extends an election victory in which it seized at least 54 of the Senate's 100 seats and took control of the US House of Representatives. If Colom wins, he would be the first Black US senator elected from Mississippi since 1874. Democrats' midterm victories were propelled by widespread discontent with President Donald Trump's policies, and the party will control Congress when the new session starts in January.