Colom leads Hyde-Smith by 2,604 votes in Mississippi Senate race as final Hinds County tally looms

All eyes remained fixated on the Hinds County Election Commission Tuesday, hoping that outstanding ballots from the area could determine the outcome of a nail-bitter U.S. Senate race between Democrat Scott Colom and Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. 

The Associated Press late Tuesday afternoon reported that Colom led Hyde-Smith by 2,604 votes with around 97% of the vote counted, but it still has not called the race.   

Tuesday was the deadline for voters who had to cast affidavit ballots on Election Day because of issues with providing valid photo identification to return to their local circuit clerks’ offices and present a valid form of ID to “cure” their ballot. 

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It was also the deadline for local election officials to receive late-arriving, mail-in absentee ballots that were postmarked by Election Day. 

Counties have until Friday to transmit their official election results to Secretary of State Michael Watson’s office, but officials in Hinds County, the state’s largest county and a Democratic stronghold, are expected to upload the results of their outstanding affidavit ballots on Wednesday, an attorney for the county told Mississippi Today. 

Hyde-Smith and Colom each on Tuesday continued to say they have a path to victory. 

Hyde-Smith, notorious for refusing to answer reporters’ questions in Capitol hallways, returned to Washington on Monday and initially declined to answer questions. On Tuesday she briefly told the media she was “feeling very optimistic” about winning reelection but refused to elaborate on the math behind her optimism. 

Colom, at an event thanking Hinds County Sheriff’s Department deputies, said he believed that once Hinds County reports the remainder of its ballots, it will likely be enough for him to be declared the winner. 

“The reality is she can’t point to a direction where she has a possibility to win, right?” Colom said of Hyde-Smith. “If she thinks she truly has the ability to win, explain how.” 

As election commissioners across the state continued to process the thousands of remaining affidavit ballots by hand, scores of election attorneys and a coalition of community and advocacy organizations that work on voting rights monitored the process.

Max Meyers, an attorney with the NAACP, said at an event on Monday night that he had not found any major issues with how election commissioners were processing the ballots and that they were continuing to “do their jobs.”

“I haven’t had to send any angry letters, which has been great,” Meyers said. “I haven’t had to set foot in a courtroom, which is lovely.” 

After county officials certify the election results, it’s possible that a campaign or political party could file litigation to contest the results or ask for a recount. 

Mike Hurst, chairman of the Mississippi GOP and general counsel to the Republican National Committee, previously said at a press conference that the party will “fight like hell” to ensure every legal ballot cast is counted and is prepared to “avail ourselves of every legal resource” available.

Colom said that Hyde-Smith needs to “accept the will of the voters,” but he’s also prepared to litigate.  

It’s unclear how litigation would play out. Mississippi has no recount law, and there is no clear process spelled out in state law for someone to challenge the results of a general election for a state office.