Mississippi Senate Race Hinges On Late Mail Ballots After Supreme Court Ruling
Democrat Scott Colom leads Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by 65 votes with 96% of ballots counted as of Wednesday morning per ABC News. Thousands of late-arriving mail and provisional ballots remain uncounted in the state's unexpectedly tight Senate race.
The Supreme Court recently ruled that Mississippi must count mail ballots received days after Election Day if they were postmarked on time. This decision came in a 5-4 ruling that rejected arguments from the Republican National Committee. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the majority in the case known as Watson v. Republican National Committee.
Justice Barrett explained the court's view on the law in a clear statement released by the Washington Examiner. She wrote, "In sum, the election-day statutes require the electorate's choice to be made on election day. That occurs so long as election day is the deadline for individuals to vote—as it is in Mississippi. But the election-day statutes do not set a deadline for ballot receipt, so they do not prevent Mississippi from counting ballots postmarked before election day yet received afterward."
The court allowed ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted even if they arrived later. This ruling overturned previous arguments that federal law required receipt by Election Day itself. Under current Mississippi law, mail ballots may be received until five business days following the election.
Scott Colom told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday that his team is ready for court action. "We're prepared to litigate, though we were prepared for this for months," Colom said according to NBC News. His legal team includes partners from the Elias Law Group who are now on the ground in Mississippi.
According to ABC News, the Colom campaign projects approximately 15,000 provisional ballots remain to be tallied. Meanwhile, NBC News reports there are about 6,000 mail ballots distributed but not yet returned. The Secretary of State's office informed ABC News that no definitive count exists for outstanding ballots.
Jake Monssen, campaign manager for Hyde-Smith, said the campaign is "closely monitoring the remaining count" per NBC News. Both sides agree that the final result depends on these remaining votes. The certification deadline for the state is set for November 13.
There is no automatic recount process in place for Mississippi according to the Secretary of State's office. Candidates cannot request a recount, and the state has no formal mechanism to trigger one. This means the final vote count will proceed without a mandatory review of the totals.
The race remains uncalled as national operatives from both parties descend on the state. The Washington Times reports that legal teams are watching how the decisive ballots are counted. This situation puts everything on the line for the state's future representation.