Mississippi Senate Provisional Ballots Trigger Legal Battle as Colom Campaign Fights GOP Demands
Democratic Senate candidate Scott Colom’s campaign pushed back against Republican demands to separate and preserve provisional ballots cast in Mississippi’s high-stakes Senate race, setting up a legal battle over thousands of uncounted votes.
In a letter published Thursday evening, Colom’s counsel stated that demands from the National Republican Senatorial Committee to single out provisional ballots “have no basis in Mississippi law” and would force officials to violate voter rights. Colom, a district attorney, stands at the center of a remarkably tight race against incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
At issue are approximately 17,000 affidavit, or provisional, ballots and another 3,000 mail-in ballots that remain uncounted. Most of them are concentrated in Hinds County, which encompasses the state capital of Jackson.
Republicans Deploy Legal Teams as Margins Remain Razor-Thin
The National Republican Senatorial Committee triggered the unfolding dispute with demands that election officials isolate the outstanding provisional ballots. Outside a state courthouse in Jackson, Mississippi Republican Party Chair Mike Hurst warned that conservative attorneys nationwide stand ready to deploy at a moment’s notice.
Make no mistake, no stone will be left unturned.
Colom’s counsel instructed local election officials to ignore demands and continue processing the election through ordinary, lawful procedures. Limited data available suggests that outstanding provisional ballots could break heavily for the Democratic challenger. An analysis by the Mississippi Free Press demonstrated that affidavit ballots in Lafayette County favored Colom by a margin of 69% to 29%.
Civil Rights Stakes
Because the contest unfolds in Mississippi—a historic epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement—any formal ballot challenge directly impacts the votes of thousands of Black residents. Given the racial makeup of Hinds County and strong Black voter turnout throughout the state this cycle, it is likely that many of the affidavit ballots in particular were cast by Black voters.
In an interview with Democracy Docket, NAACP leader Derrick Johnson confirmed that the organization is preparing to use every available tool to protect the interests of African American communities.
In this country, people settle their differences at the ballot box.
Johnson said.
And if you try to steal the ballot box and steal our vote, we have to respond accordingly.
With an army of attorneys from both political parties lying in wait, election officials face mounting pressure as they work to clear the remaining 20,000 uncounted affidavit and mail-in ballots.
