Lawyers descend on Mississippi as vote counting continues in razor-thin Senate race

Democratic and Republican lawyers and groups trade sharp legal letters about procedures for counting ballots in tight race

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Democrat Scott Colom is on the verge of winning a Senate seat in Mississippi in a stunning upset, but ballots are still being counted in a close race where Colom holds a lead of just under 2,000 votes over Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith. Losing ruby-red Mississippi would be the final straw for Republicans after a midterm sweep by Democrats that turned Texas and South Carolina blue.

A possible legal fight is also brewing, as both sides trade sharp legal letters about the procedures for counting remaining ballots. National voting groups and attorneys have descended upon the magnolia state, joining the local groups that worked to mobilize voters. Democratic and Republican groups, including Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and Democratic election attorneys from the Elias Law Group, have deployed hundreds of volunteers and lawyers to all the state’s 82 counties to oversee the final rounds of counting.

In Mississippi, voters who cast affidavit ballots on election day because they don’t have photo IDs have five business days to visit their local circuit clerk’s office to present an acceptable photo ID, or sign a religious objection affidavit. They have until 10 November to do so, which is also the last day for mail-in ballots to arrive and be counted.

Mississippi has no automatic recount law. A recount can only happen if ordered by a court in response to a lawsuit against a county or county election commission from a political party or campaign. Mississippi law does not establish a system for challenging ballots on a statewide scale, so the process would have to be county-by-county basis.

“Mississippians did their part. Now election officials must do theirs,” Nsombi Lambright-Haynes, executive director of One Voice, a local civic organization said in a statement. “Voters who followed the rules and were still turned away, moved to an affidavit ballot, or left off the rolls through no fault of their own deserve answers and action. We will not let administrative failures erase the voices of the people.”

On Thursday, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which represents Hyde-Smith, sent a letter to county election commissioners and circuit clerks in the state, demanding that they separate and preserve all affidavit ballots cast in the 3 November general election.

“As the democratic process continues to play out, we are committed to ensuring that every single lawful ballot is accurately counted and the voices of all Mississippians are heard,” NRSC’s ergional press secretary, Samantha Cantrell, said in a statement.

Colom’s campaign manager, Gerard Henderson, called the NRSC’s letter a “desperate stunt” in a statement.

“We’re confident that when every lawful ballot is counted, Scott Colom will be Mississippi’s next US senator,” he said.