Scott Colom’s lead widens in Mississippi Senate race after Democratic stronghold counts affidavit ballots

JACKSON, MISS. — Democrat Scott Colom’s lead in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race* significantly widened after Hinds County, a Democratic stronghold, accepted and counted hundreds of affidavit ballots. 

Hinds County election commissioners determined Wednesday Colom received 703 out of 817 accepted affidavit votes cast in the county. His opponent, incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R), received 96. Colom also received 61 late-arriving absentee votes, while Hyde-Smith received 3. 

Colom is now ahead by 4,404 votes, according to the Associated Press. The newly counted ballots solidify his lead over Hyde-Smith and bring him closer to an upset victory that could make him Mississippi’s first Black senator since Reconstruction.

The results have not yet been certified.

One of the closest Senate contests in modern history, the race came down to affidavit, absentee and mail ballots, many of which are still being counted statewide.

Earlier Wednesday, Hinds County rejected the vast majority of its affidavit ballots: 1,609 out of 2,426, roughly 66% percent of affidavits cast in the county. Most of those ballots were likely rejected due to improper registration and votes being cast in the wrong precinct.

The county’s rejection rate appeared to be significantly higher than the statewide rate, which hovered around 24% as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson.

National — and international — attention focused on Hinds County in particular, where voters cast thousands of affidavit ballots this year. Over eight days and under scrutiny from political observers, Hinds County election officials worked through the affidavit ballots one by one, deciding which ballots to accept and which to reject.

Many of the affidavit ballots this year appear to stem from changes to Mississippi’s voter list maintenance practices. Over 200,000 voters were marked as inactive after Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson (R) used credit reporting data from Experian to check to update the voter rolls.

On Election Day, these voters were required to vote using an affidavit ballot and either verify their identity with a form of identification right then or provide valid ID to their local circuit clerk’s office within five days for their ballot to be counted. The deadline to provide ID was Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Mississippi’s restrictive election laws also contributed to the delayed results: High turnout quickly overwhelmed the state’s system.

This is a developing story. Check back later for more information.

*The Elias Law Group (ELG) represents the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and is active in the legal effort on behalf of the Colom campaign. ELG Firm Chair Marc Elias is the founder of Democracy Docket.